


Ace Defective

by Milligramme



Series: Don't You Want Me [2]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Adachi is an absolute asshole all the time, Dojima is completely clueless, Iwai doesn't physically appear in this one but he's so omnipresent that I have to include him, M/M, Manipulation, Misunderstandings, Nothing is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Persona 4 Spoilers, mostly follows Persona 4 canon, murders, you know the drill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-05-03 01:57:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 50,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14558346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milligramme/pseuds/Milligramme
Summary: After being sent to Inaba, Adachi feels like he's lost everything. The world is a shitty place after all, and efforts are useless. Everything changes when he hears about the Midnight Channel and discovers a new power that he is determined to use in order to go back to Tokyo, to his family.And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids!Note: you don't have to read the previous story to understand this one.





	1. Running Iwai From Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm BACK!  
> Sorry about the delay, but since I'll be away for the next two weeks, I figured that it would be better to post the chapter now instead of making you wait for three weeks. This one is super short, but although the length isn't representative of the other chapters, the tone is.  
> As always, thank you to my betas, Rawen and Akaicchi!
> 
> Summary for people who are joining us now: Adachi and Iwai were dating before Adachi was sent to Inaba. It was never really official, but he was totally part of the family.  
> Today, Adachi is moving out.  
> Enjoy!

Tohru taped another box. Another part of his life, neatly packed inside an impersonal cardboard box on which he wrote “dishware” with a big black marker. It made the reality of the situation sink in even more, as if each piece of tape, each stroke of marker, was put on his skin instead of the cardboard.

_He was leaving Tokyo in a week._

Tohru sighed at the thought. Things had really been going his way the past few months. He had been promoted to inspector, Mune was letting him stay overnight more these days, and he had even been given his first big case.

And now here he was, back to the bottom. The investigation had been a lot harder than expected, it had stalled for a while, and when he had tried something desperate to make a breakthrough, well…

_He had failed. And it didn’t matter to the higher ups that his intentions had been good; that he really wanted to do something meaningful here. Only that he was given a chance, and he had failed miserably, and so he wasn’t fit for the job. He was just another expendable cop among others, barely good enough to work in a small town._

_Dammit!_

He gritted his teeth as he moved on to his room, emptying his closet and sorting his clothes, deciding which ones he’d still need and which ones he wouldn’t. As he opened a drawer, his eyes fell on his modified gun. The one that was shooting real bullets. One of the few he had decided to keep, along with Mune’s Christmas gift.

Most of the others had been sold. The only ones left were the models he associated with pleasant memories, like the first time he went to Untouchable’s back storeroom, or the one Mune praised the most. Tohru couldn’t afford to keep them all anyway, and he needed the extra money. Plus, he didn’t care about them. They had just been stepping stones to get to his real gun (and to the man who sold them). They had filled their purpose.

He took out everything and sorted the contents, throwing away most of it. He wouldn’t need anything in the boonies.

_He didn’t want to need anything. He didn’t want to go._

Another box. Another part of his life, ready to go. Those were his summer clothes, which he wouldn’t need for another couple of months.

_A few years ago, he had been flirting with Mune in those clothes. And he had met Kaoru. And now, he wouldn’t see either of them ever again, because he was leaving the city for at least a year. Probably more. He might even never come back._

Then came the mid-season clothes.

_The ones he wore when he had realized his crush on Mune; when he went on his first morning drinks with him; when they had kissed for the first time; even when they had…_

He scrunched his shirt at the memories. This all felt so far away…

He kept some of the winter clothes out, since it was February already. He wouldn’t need many though. After all, he was going to spend most of the next few days inside, packing stuff on his own.

_There was no way he’d call Mune for that. He couldn’t face him now that he was so low._

He hadn’t told the retailer anything about his demotion. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to really avoid him either, so he just kept his mask on whenever they were together, acting like everything was fine; like he hadn’t fucked up so badly.

“Sorry, I’m just concerned about work,” he simply said whenever the other man asked what was wrong.

Work had been his excuse for months now. His excuse for not seeing Kaoru and him more often; for looking so grim whenever he thought they weren’t looking; for the one time his feelings had gotten the better of him and he’d ended up hugging a very surprised Mune tightly, burying his face in the crook of his neck to control his sobs, fill his lungs with his reassuring smell, and make sure the other didn’t see the tears that were streaming down his face silently. The man had simply returned the hug without a word, and let him stay like this for most of the night.

“You want to talk about it?” he’d asked eventually.

Tohru had simply shaken his head, grateful for the fact that the retailer never insisted. He’d felt so great until it finally hit him that they had never cuddled like this before, and they would probably never do it again, because he was leaving soon. After all, who knew when he would return?

_Who knew if Mune would want a loser like him, if he ever came back?_

He couldn’t tell anything. Not to him, and certainly not to Kaoru. He could picture the boy’s disappointed look all too well, and he couldn’t bear the idea of not seeing the kid’s face brighten whenever he saw him.

Tohru marked the last box of clothes, and decided that he had done enough for the day. He put it with the others and fell heavily on his couch with a groan. He had worked well today. He deserved a treat.

As he searched his cupboards for something nice that would pass as a reward, his eyes fell on the box of sweets he had bought for Mune on a whim, for Valentine’s Day. He had seen them and thought it would be a perfect alternative for chocolates. Something he could keep casual. “I saw them and thought of you, they were half priced,” or something like that. He had no idea back then that he wouldn’t spend that day with the other; that he would be on his way to some shitty little place in the arse end of nowhere instead.

Just like he had taken them from the shop’s shelves to put them in his shopping bag an eternity ago, Tohru took the sweets from his cupboard and threw them in the trash.


	2. Tohru-ble Along the Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from my vacation! Who's ready for more depressing content poorly hidden behind awful puns?
> 
> Today, Adachi arrives in Inaba and meets Dojima for the first time. It sucks for the both of them.
> 
> Note: Since Ryotaro is so long, I have a headcanon that no one actually calls him that. And since I got used to reading "Ryou" (and "Ryo" reminds me too much of the old currency) I decided to go for it.  
> Note 2, for people who just joined us: Masanobu is Adachi's old senpai back in Tokyo (he's a minor OC of mine). Adachi would describe him as an illiterate moron obsessed with Justice.
> 
> Enjoy!

_Ryou taped another box. Another part of what had been Chisato’s life—his life with Chisato—neatly packed inside an impersonal cardboard box on which he wrote “pictures” with a big black marker. Even after hours of methodically searching and packing everything that reminded him of his wife in the house they shared, the reality of the situation was still barely sinking in._

Chisato was gone.

_It had been weeks already. Her parents had offered to take Nanako with them for a few days, after the funeral, so he could put his life in order. Find a way to take care of his child now that it was only him. Maybe organize his work hours around her schedule or something._

_Little did they know that Ryou had spent the past few days drinking and working on the case of his wife’s death instead. But Nanako would be back tomorrow, so he had to do it now. And his definition of “putting his life in order” was to erase every trace of Chisato’s existence to alleviate his own pain._

Note to self: sell the piano or put it somewhere he wouldn’t have to see it.

_Once he was done with the rest of the house, he finally moved on to their room—his room now—to take care of the clothes. His wife had always been pretty adamant on keeping their home in order. Her stuff was all neatly stored in its places, and the separation between her belongings and his was a lot clearer than it was in the rest of the house._

_He was so grateful for it now…_

_He emptied her side of the closet, trying to repress the memories that were attached to some of the clothes._

The summer dress she was wearing that one time they had gone on a family trip to the beach near Inaba. The elegant clothes she always insisted on wearing for Christmas, as if they were doing more than just having dinner at home with Nanako. The old shirt and jeans she used when they were working around the house.

_He put everything in boxes that he left on her side of the closet. For some reason, they were less scary this way. He could deal with cardboard boxes. Make himself forget what was inside. In a way, more than just Chisato, it was his own feelings that he was packing tightly, taping them as if they were going on a long journey instead of just taking dust in half a closet._

_He then remembered something important that was left in his own side, and retrieved a small box that he knew contained nice earrings from Okina City. Her birthday gift._

But there wouldn’t be any more birthdays for her, from now on…

_He threw them in the last box with the rest of her jewelry._

.

When he first arrived in Inaba, Tohru felt empty. He expected to be sad, or bitter, or angry, but he was wrong. There wasn’t anything inside him; just emptiness. It was as if all his feelings had been left in Tokyo, where he belonged.

Maybe all the packing had done its job after all? He thought at first. But then, he reached his new flat, smaller and uglier than what he had in Tokyo—he probably could have found better but why bother anyway—and even after everything was unpacked, he still didn’t feel a thing. He didn’t touch the items that reminded him of the Iwais, though. They had a box of their own, and the detective left it under the couch, easy to access yet hidden. Perfect.

He thought for a second about going to town and see where the police station was, in order to be ready for the morning. He would have done that, before, he remembered with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. However, this time, he decided against it. There would be nothing anyway. And people in Inaba were probably expecting a fuckup, so he’d better give them what they wanted, right?

.

Something you learned early on when you lived in a small town was that everyone had their own place and a role to play, and you couldn’t deviate from it so easily. Not fitting in your allotted space meant that the whole structure might crumble. The tiny community was strong when everyone played their part, and all benefited from it; yet, its balance was as fragile as a house of cards, and it needed to be protected.

Playing his role as a hardboiled detective and brooding widowed father was part of how Ryou protected his town. Both were him anyway, so it wasn’t too hard to play. The only issue was when one role tried to take the place of the other, and he ended up interrogating his daughter instead of asking about her day; or when he craved a drink at work because he thought about Chisato too much, and he opened her old file again instead of focusing on his current case.

All in all though, he wasn’t doing so badly, even if he often forgot the “father” part of “widowed father”. He always had Nanako’s best interest in mind, even if he couldn’t be here for her as often as he wanted to. That was what he told himself, at least.

Ryou arrived at work early that day, as always. He liked seeing the empty station filling slowly as he drank his first cup of coffee, going through the files that needed his attention. He’d always enjoyed that kind of routine. Rituals like going to work early were what really helped him keep his life together, even if, for the first few years, it meant dropping Nanako with a neighbor who could take her to school along with her other kids.

That day however, his nice little routine was disrupted by a rare event: Ichikawa, the head of the station, called him in his office. Ryou went there with a shrug, not really anxious. He’d always done his job well, and the two of them had worked together long enough that the detective knew he didn’t have much to worry about. Or at least, so he thought.

“You’ll have a new partner starting next week,” wasn’t exactly what he’d expected to hear.

Of course, he knew it was bound to happen since Tsunemori had been transferred to a bigger station the month before, but he had no idea her replacement would come so soon. He understood that it couldn’t be helped, but he really liked the tranquility.

“Who are they?” he asked.

“A young detective from the city. His name is Tohru Adachi,” Ichikawa explained, reading from a paper in a small file.

He then closed it and handed it to him, telling him to have a look when he had the time. Ryou took it and left soon after. Since he had nothing more urgent to do, he decided to read the file now, curious to see what kind of fuckup the city was going to send them this time.

It wasn’t that the detective was against partners, of course. However, he preferred rookies, who were often willing to learn, to people who had fallen in disgrace. From his experience, those guys always acted all high and mighty, and they were even more incompetent than new recruits. And a lot less cooperative, at that.

As he opened the file, the first thing that Ryou noticed was the picture. The man had the messy hair of someone who had just woken up, dark gray eyes that looked slightly unfocused, and an expression that could have been serious, but looked empty and a bit spacey instead.

“He looks like a moron,” the detective muttered under his breath.

This was going to be a nightmare.

.

Tohru came late to the station. That was something he had never done back in Tokyo, and it was his first day here. He shrugged before walking in. He wasn’t that late anyway, and from what he’d seen of the town, it wasn’t like he was going to miss anything.

_It looked so boring and dead… Why would people even live here?_

Everyone recognized him instantly when he stepped into the station. Tohru thought that he would have to tell who he was, but the first thing he heard when he walked to the reception desk was:

“Oh, you must be Adachi-san!”

He nodded, surprised, and the man at the desk continued:

“We were expecting you. I hope the station wasn’t too hard to find? I’ll tell the chief you’re here.”

He seemed pretty excited, as Tohru could have expected from a guy living in a small town. His coming here was probably the talk of the station, because those people had nothing better to do with their days.

_Damn, he’d been here for less than a minute, and he was bored out of his mind already…_

“Adachi-san, welcome to Inaba,” the man who was apparently the chief said, interrupting his train of thought.

The introductions went fairly well, if Tohru didn’t take into account the scornful look his new boss had. _“You’re late on your first day, and you’re not even wearing a tie. How disgraceful. It’s no wonder the higher ups sent you here,”_ his eyes seemed to say.

_Well, they got what they deserved. He had made an effort back in the city and look where it led him! Now, he was planning to do as little as possible, and he would loathe every second of it._

“Your partner isn’t here at the moment,” the other finally announced. “He was tired of waiting and went on a patrol.”

“Oops, sorry Sir,” he said with a disarming smile as he scratched the back of his head.

_Who would have thought that his harmless cop mask would be useful so soon? Not that he was planning to do anything else, of course. From now on, it would be goofball for everyone, whether they liked it or not._

“I only arrived yesterday and I got lost on my way here,” he explained.

The other man sighed and asked some underling to show him to his desk while he waited for that “Dojima” guy to come back.

_So he was on a patrol, huh… That sounded a lot like someone he knew from the city…_

_“I swear if I end up with another Masanobu, I’ll just resign and take the first train back to Tokyo,”_ he thought so hard that he wondered if he didn’t say it out loud _._ No one seemed to react though, so it was probably fine.

Since Tohru had nothing better to do with his life after putting his assigned desk in order, he decided to take a walk around the station and ask people about Dojima, to get a better idea of what kind of person his new partner was.

“Dojima-san? He’s like a dragon! But he’s a good cop, you have to give him that. And he works harder than anyone!” someone said.

“Dojima-san is really cool! You should see him with criminals!” another exclaimed.

_What kind of criminals did they even have around here? Cabbage stealers? Young punks making noise with their outdated motorcycles because there was nothing else to do around here?_

“He’s changed ever since his wife died in that accident. But he’s still very dedicated to his job,” one of the secretaries explained.

That sounded a lot like Masanobu the Second, Tohru summarized once he was done asking people around. He shivered. To think he had escaped the original only to end up with a special edition from the boonies.

_Maybe he should really pack his stuff and go back to Tokyo. Maybe he could explain the situation to Mune and-_

No, he couldn’t do that, he reminded himself. He should at least wait to see the guy before making a decision. That couldn’t hurt, right?

“Dojima-san, welcome back. Adachi-san arrived a bit earlier, he should be waiting at his desk,” he heard from the entrance.

His heart started racing in his chest, and he took a sip of coffee nervously. Time to meet the “dragon”…

The man stomped his way through the station, and as he came closer to him, Tohru felt like he’d been thrown in a cold lake.

“So, you’re late on your fist day, huh. And where’s your tie?” the man barked, Masanobu style but more gruff.

Tohru couldn’t find anything to reply. He barely listened anyway, too entranced by his new partner’s looks.

_Was it just him, or did he look a lot like an older Mune?_

“Are you even listening?” Munenobu asked.

“Oh, uh… Yes! Of course Sir!”

That didn’t seem to calm him down.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I got lost on the way here and-”

“Ichikawa told me already. Never mind,” he grumbled.

He then took a deep breath, and he sounded a bit less angry when he said:

“By the way, I’m Ryotaro Dojima. Your new partner.”

“Tohru Adachi, nice to meet you,” he replied.

The rest of the day went relatively well. At least enough for Tohru to forget about running away.

_So this was going to be his life from now on. Stuck forever with another Masanobu trapped in Mune’s body. Perfect. This was the last proof he needed to be convinced that the universe hated him personally._

.

Ryou had no idea what to make of his new partner. He was certain that there was some kind of logic behind his behavior, but he had no idea what it was. His only conclusion for now was that the guy was lazy, incompetent, and actively trying to drive him crazy. Those were probably the reasons behind his demotion, after all. The report wasn’t clear about that, or at least, what had been reported didn’t look like such a grave mistake. That meant that there must be another reason, and the senior detective was quite sure that the ones he’d mentioned earlier were pretty decent. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time the city sent them their trash…

Still, there was something about Adachi that made him think that it probably wasn’t so simple. Call it his detective’s instinct, there was still a part of him that felt like things weren’t adding up. After all, had the man been so incompetent from the start, how could he have gone so far? Especially since he’d been in the city the entire time. If he was really that bad, he would have been sent away a long time ago.

Ryou sometimes found himself observing the rookie when they were both working, wondering what he could be hiding. Then, the guy did something idiotic, or simply noticed him and looked at him with a goofy smile like he did just now, and his partner was sent right back to the “he’s just an idiot and his promotion to inspector in the city was a mistake” state of mind.

“Adachi, go make me a coffee,” he grumbled to hide his irritation. “And I don’t want any of that sugary crap!” he quickly added.

He remembered all too well what happened the first time he’d asked Adachi to do that. The moron had come back, all smiles, and gave him a black coffee just like Ryou wanted it. People sometimes put milk in it without asking, but it seemed that his partner got it right, he thought at first. Then, he took a sip, and his mouth was suddenly filled with the sweetest, most nauseating drink he had ever tasted. He had no idea how much sugar there was in that cup, but the concentration was probably as high as it could be.

_He was ready to be nice with the guy despite the terrible first impression he had made, and for that, his plan had been to drink the coffee he was given, no matter how crappy. After all, he was the one who didn’t say “black, no sugar” in the first place. But this? This was sabotage!_

He’d spat his first sip in the cup and had to repress the impulse to throw that garbage at Adachi’s face. Instead, he just put it in the trash where it belonged and yelled at the idiot looking at him expectantly, which wasn’t much better but there was no way that _thing_ was an honest mistake!

“Sorry Sir, I… I must have spaced out while I was pouring the sugar,” Adachi had said with a nervous laugh and a disarming smile. He looked a bit disappointed.

Ryou didn’t know if it calmed him down or infuriated him more, but either way, he still scolded him until the awful taste of sugar left his mouth.

_There had been no more mistakes like that ever since, but he still felt the need to remind the other every time he asked for a coffee, just in case._

If he was going to talk about his partner’s oddities, there was also the matter of reports, of course. As a mean of punishment for being late on his first day (and also the second, although not by much), the older detective had decided to make Adachi take care of all the paperwork he could find.

The work had been done, he could give him that. However, the result was barely acceptable, and it was obviously done that poorly on purpose. It felt like a lot of thought had been put into it, in order to make it acceptable in the worst way possible. There was no way something so bad yet following the requirements so faithfully could have been written without some serious knowledge of said requirements. Plus, the guy’s handwriting was horrible. Barely legible to Ryou’s standards, which were pretty low. Even Nanako wrote better than that, and she had just started learning!

The worst part about this was that Adachi seemed to find it hilarious! He had this smug look that he’d barely managed to hide when he was handing him the papers the first time, as if he had managed to one up him. That changed quickly when his partner made him redo the entire thing properly.

_He looked genuinely surprised, though. Did he really do it like that in the city? Who taught him to do such a terrible job?_

All these questions never found an answer. Not that he ever bothered to ask, anyway. What mattered was that the guy did it properly the second time, although the handwriting was still horrible and it looked like the work of a grade school kid.

Talking about paperwork, Adachi seemed to be done with his. Maybe it would be a good time for a patrol? That was the best way to make him learn about the town, and it wasn’t like they had anything better to do at the moment, after all. As he was pondering the idea, the other came back with the coffee he’d ordered. It was starting to be decent, Ryou decided as he took his first sip. Maybe he could do something with that guy after all.

“So, you’re done with your work?” he asked as he sipped his drink mindlessly.

“Oh, um… Yes, I think so. Do you want to have a look, Sir?” Adachi replied, obviously surprised to be talked to.

“Sure,” he said as he grabbed the pile he was handed.

The handwriting was as terrible as ever, but the rest was alright, he noted as he checked on it. He made a few comments on what could be done better, wondering why the hell he’d have to do that for someone who’d been on the field for years according to his file. Then, since there was no more coffee in his cup, he stood up and grabbed his coat.

“We’re going on a patrol,” he announced as he started walking out.

“Sure, have a nice patrol, Sir!” Adachi replied.

Ryou turned around to see that the moron was comfortably sitting in his chair, looking like his partner’s “we” didn’t include him at all.

“You are coming,” he specified, talking slowly, as if he was in front of an idiot—which seemed to be the case.

“Am I?” the other asked, looking genuinely surprised.

“That’s what I meant by ‘ _we_ are going on a patrol,’ yes,” he explained, trying to keep his calm.

“Oh… Okay.”

_Seriously, what kind of work did that lazy dumbass do in the city? Patrols were the basics! Did Ryou have to teach him everything? The guy wasn’t some kind of rookie, dammit! He should know all of this already!_

In conclusion: Adachi was going to drive him crazy before spring.

.

Tohru’s first week in Inaba had been … something, for sure. He hated everything, from the way he was expected to take care of petty stuff like couple’s quarrels and cats stuck in trees, to the townsfolk, the lack of entertainment, the climate, the fresh air, the station, his colleagues, _everything!_

The only thing he didn’t dislike entirely was Dojima, but that was only because he looked like Mune. Except that he didn’t like sweets, didn’t seem to understand anything about technology, and had an awful personality. He was like Masanobu, except that he could read! And he was treating him like some kind of intern, while also expecting him to do a good job. And what was it with all the patrols?! At least his old _senpai_ never forced him to come along. Plus, the sight of Tokyo was a lot less depressing than gray old Inaba.

Actually, Tohru was wrong. The thing he disliked the most in this shitty little town was Dojima.

_And now, he had managed to make himself pissed off before he’d even arrived at the station. It was going to be a great day._

His partner was already here when he walked in, sipping a coffee and looking through files, like always. Tohru greeted him before sitting at his desk. There was a small box on it that looked an awful lot like a gift. And Dojima was sending him quick, expecting glances that made him look like an awkward dog. The box was probably from him, the younger detective deduced, patting himself on the back for his amazing skills.

“Is it for me?” he asked, looking as clueless as possible.

Dojima scratched his head nervously.

“Yeah, that’s from me. Call it a welcome gift. You can open it now,” he explained with an embarrassed expression.

 _“Is this a normal thing in the boonies?”_ Tohru wondered as he opened the box to reveal a plain red tie. It was good quality, but it looked used.

“It’s nothing,” Dojima blurted. “It’s just that you never wear one, so I thought I could give you one of mine.”

Tohru would have never imagined that seeing the other man looking embarrassed and scratching his neck awkwardly would feel so good.

_He looked almost cute like that, in the same gruff way Mune did._

Nope! He wasn’t going there, he reminded himself as he tried to shake off the memory of Mune asking him if he’d come to the temple with Kaoru and him for the New Year.

_He had this way of always using his kid as an excuse whenever he was asking things like that…_

And Tohru wasn’t going there, either!

He forced a smile on his face and thanked Dojima for the gift, wondering why the man would do that. Did he look that pitiful without a tie? Was it some kind of peace offering from him?

His partner was looking at him intently, and that was when his junior realized that he was expected to put it on. He did so quickly, trying to keep it loose because he hated how it felt.

_He had really hoped that he could stop wearing those once he was in the boonies, but it seemed that there was no way out…_

“By the way, are you free after work?” the other suddenly asked.

“Uh… Sure. Why?”

“Let’s go for a drink. I’m paying.”

Oh, right. Drinking with colleagues after work was a thing, he remembered. Not really something he did in Tokyo—unless he had no choice of course—but he could avoid it easily, back in the city. Here, if it was only the two of them, it would be harder to find an excuse not to come, or to leave early. Plus, who was he to refuse free booze, right?

_Maybe Dojima wasn’t such a bad person after all… But his behavior was really beyond Tohru._


	3. MaYou&Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Mayumi Yamano dies, and Dojima opens up to Adachi.

_“Haven’t you heard about the Midnight Channel? If you watch TV at midnight on rainy days, your soul mate appears on the screen.”_

Tohru had no idea where he’d heard that. However, on that rainy night, he suddenly remembered the rumor and decided to give it a go. It was already 11:57, after all. He could wait three more minutes.

_How come he was still awake at this hour however, he didn’t know. It wasn’t like there was anything to do in the evening around here, and he didn’t have model guns to work on anymore._

Now that he thought about it, he missed having something to do at home. Even the magic tricks bored him now.

_Hurt him, to be honest. Practicing was painful because he knew there would be no one to show them to. It was no use if Kaoru wasn’t here to watch._

The closest thing to model guns Tohru could find in this shithole was this old shop selling robot models, and he really wasn’t that desperate. It was just one step away from electric trains, and he refused to sink that low. There was also the blacksmith, who was like some kind of primitive Mune, but the detective couldn’t fiddle with his work, so it was useless. He wondered sometimes if this man even had clients…

_And then, there was the tofu shop. Kaoru would love it! It broke Tohru’s heart a little each time he walked past it._

Anyway, he was _bored._ To think that he used to live like that before he found Untouchable… But at least, there were alternatives in Tokyo.

He glanced at the clock. It showed 11:59. How could it have been only two minutes?! Why was time so slow in the boonies?!

Just as he was thinking that, the TV screen changed suddenly. He had forgotten to turn it on, now that he thought about it; and yet here it was, obviously switched on, although the only thing he could see was snow. And a silhouette. A woman, most probably. Very feminine, pretty mature. Familiar, somehow. Tohru was sure he’d seen her somewhere, but he couldn’t remember where, which was all the more annoying as there weren’t many women in his life.

_So what, his soul mate was a hot chick all along? He knew it! He knew his heterosexuality would come back in the end!_

Now, all he had to do was to find who this girl really was, and it would be smooth sailing from then on! Maybe there was a reason for his coming to this shitty place, after all.

He reached out to the screen to touch her, and instead of the smooth surface he expected, his hand went right through it, as if it had become liquid. He let out a surprised gasp and put it out immediately. Then, the image disappeared.

_Did he dream that? Given how awake he felt, it was unlikely._

The best way to know was to try again, right? He thought before taking a deep breath. He put his hand on the screen one more time, and again, it went right through it.

He tried it several times, less scared and more puzzled with each attempt.

_Finally some thrill!_

That being said, he wondered what kind of practical use he could find for this new power. He’d find out soon enough, though. Now, it was time to sleep and think about his beautiful and very womanly soul mate.

.

Ryou was in a particularly good mood this morning. Was it the sun? Was it the feeling of spring coming back soon? Was it because he felt rested for the first time in a while? He didn’t know, but he was feeling great. Adachi being a few minutes late didn’t even faze him, and while he was waiting for him, he decided to make coffee for the two of them. Black for himself, and for his partner…

_How did he even drink his coffee? The detective had no idea!_

He thought for a while, and suddenly remembered the way the other had made his coffee on the first day. Could it be that, instead of sabotage, it was simply how he drank his own coffee? Ryou scratched his chin pensively, which reminded him that he should shave soon.

_That would explain why Adachi seemed so surprised that he didn’t like his sweet trash. It was the most logical answer_.

_“Another great deduction from Detective Dojima,”_ he thought as he started pouring sugar in his partner’s cup, smiling for himself.

_And if it wasn’t the case, it would be a nice revenge... A_ sweet _revenge, even!_

He chuckled at his own joke and kept pouring.

When he arrived at work that day, the last thing Tohru expected was a hot cup of coffee on his desk. It was in his mug, so it had to be for him, right? He looked up and saw Dojima motioning to confirm that it was and… Was he smiling?

_First the gift and now this? What was that guy trying to do here? Did he have an ulterior motive? And if so, what was it?_

“Thanks,” he said hesitantly before taking a sip.

 Sugar.

The thing tasted of sugar more than it tasted of coffee. It was exactly how Mune used to drink it…

_Dammit, who cared about a sexy female soul mate?! He wanted to be in Tokyo! He wanted to be with Mune and Kaoru, and forget about this shitty place altogether!_

He took another sip to stop his lower lip from trembling—it wasn’t at the moment, but it was dangerously close—and smiled fondly at the memories that came with the taste. Maybe he should drink it like this from now on…

 “Is it how you drink your coffee?” Dojima asked with an unsure expression.

“Yeah, I like it,” he replied with a cracking voice.

Ryou didn’t know how to interpret Adachi’s expression. He expected him to either be happy or spit it immediately. Instead, the other looked so sad for a moment, and now there was this soft smile on his lips… He was looking at him as if he was far away, and the detective couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong, or if he was just very touched by the attention. He had the same kind of expression when he got the tie, but this one looked much more melancholic.

_Almost cute, if it weren’t so sad._

“Are you okay?” he asked with a concerned frown.

Adachi seemed to come back to reality, and immediately put on a goofy smile.

“Yes, Sir! Why? Are you worried about me?”

Ryou sighed deeply.

“Just get to work, you’re late,” he said with an irritated frown, regretting his previous concern.

Adachi deserved no such thing.

.

The woman on TV… Mayumi Yamano… Was his soul mate? Tohru couldn’t believe it, but it fit! The shape of her body, the length of her hair, the way she stood… It matched the silhouette from the Midnight Channel perfectly! There was no doubt in his mind; he’d been watching her so often that he’d recognize her anywhere! He’d just have to check the TV at midnight to make sure, since it was raining tonight, but he already knew what it would show.

Tohru hummed happily. He’d always felt a connection to her, ever since he moved to Inaba and had nothing better to do than watch TV all day. But to think that she had been his soul mate all along… What were the odds?

“Regarding the affair, Mr. Namatame didn’t make any comments…” said the announcer on screen.

_Pretty cute, but Mayumi was a lot better._

There was this affair though, she was right. Could it all be a lie? Maybe it was all set up by the wife of this Namatame guy who was after her husband’s money, like the damn gold digger she was! Maybe it was another reporter who was jealous of Mayumi’s success. Maybe the two of them were working together to make them fall. That sounded plausible. After all, Tohru’s soul mate couldn’t be some kind of bitch, right? Of course she was going to be pure! She’d been waiting for him, after all.

Midnight came, and the image changed to reveal exactly what he’d been expecting this whole time. The image was clearer, and there was no doubt that the person on screen was Mayumi Yamano.

_His soul mate._

“Soon, we’ll be together,” he whispered lovingly at the screen.

.

“Adachi, come with me. We’re having a drink,” Dojima said after work that evening.

He’d been inviting him more and more often these days. Tohru didn’t know why, but he didn’t dislike it. Free stuff was always good to take, and at least it gave him something to do.

“Sure, Sir,” he replied as he grabbed his own jacket and followed him to his car.

That was another good point. It meant that he could have a free ride home!

Something was bothering him, however. He usually pushed it to the back of his mind, but this time, he couldn’t help but ask:

“Didn’t you tell me you had a daughter at home though? Don’t you want to see her instead of spending the evening with me?”

After spending so much time with Mune, who put Kaoru above everything else, it seemed strange to see Dojima leaving his kid alone at home so easily.

“She’ll be fine. I called to tell her I’d come late. You’re new here, so I figured you’d need company more than she does.”

Adachi nodded without inquiring further, and Ryou wondered why he’d care so much, all of a sudden. He had told him about Nanako and his family situation a while ago, after all. However, he’d never mentioned the details. Because if he was perfectly honest with himself, his new partner wasn’t the only one who needed company. If Ryou did all of this, it was because he needed it too.

He sighed and drove them to the Shiroku Pub silently, still lost in his thoughts. That was probably why he’d drunk so much that night. He usually tried to keep a clear mind around Adachi, but he didn’t like being reminded of how lonely he was.

“You- you don’t have to feel guilty that I spend time with you after work, Adachi,” Dojima explained with red cheeks and a slurred speech.

He had drunk way too much that evening. Tohru didn’t know why, but it seemed that it made him talkative—more so than usual, that was.

“You know, I need the company too,” the other kept going while his partner hummed and nodded from time to time, to show that he was listening. “Ever since Chisato died… It’s been hard, you know. People expected me to remarry right away, but I didn’t want to. And now, they just want me to keep being sad and mourn her forever. I don’t care though. I can’t let her go until I’ve found the bastard who killed her!”

_That was new…_

“I just couldn’t stay with our friends,” he continued. “They were _her_ friends more than mine anyway. And you know, it’s so hard to be around those people when I’m barely allowed to smile!”

Why was he telling him all this? Tohru wondered. They’d known each other for about a month; that was way too much information for him! Sure, he was aware that Dojima was a lot less secretive than ~~his better and younger twin~~ Mune, but this was on an entirely different level!

_Did that guy have any idea what he would have given to learn so much from the retailer?_ _Even after searching his file, even after months of seeing each other, even after spending Christmas and the New Year together, he still only had a very vague idea of what Mune’s past was like. And now here was stupid Dojima, spilling details about his entire life after barely a month, as if he cared!_

He nodded with a sympathetic smile.

“But that’s why you’re good, Adachi. You don’t… You don’t know me. You don’t have all those expectations,” the other concluded, struggling to pronounce the last word.

Dojima was now looking at him with a drunken smile, and Tohru let out a nervous laugh. That was awkward.

“Sure, Sir,” he said. “That sounds rough.”

His partner let out a heavy sigh, obviously disappointed by the reply.

_Well, what else was he expecting him to say? What did he even want from him? Tohru was playing the role of the harmless idiot here! Why should he become the compassionate friend all of a sudden?_

They left soon after, and Tohru had to drive his wasted partner home. He carried him to the door, and the other said that he could take it from there.

“My nephew is coming next week. I think I told you, right?” he said suddenly, with a way more sober sounding voice.

“I think you mentioned it,” the younger cop replied.

“He can take care of Nanako when I’m not here in the evening. So we can go out more often.”

“Sure, Sir. That would be great!”

“Goodnight,” Dojima muttered before walking in, clumsily but surely.

Tohru didn’t care about the kid; he really didn’t. Still, he hoped that Nanako wouldn’t have to see her father like this…

_And now that he thought about it, he didn’t get his ride home this time. Dammit!_

.

Tohru didn’t believe much in fate. He believed in talent, which was some kind of fate, but that was all. However, it was hard to deny the possibility of its existence when the chief announced that he was sending him to the Amagi Inn in order to protect Mayumi, who had been hiding there for the past few days, as she was afraid of meeting journalists. Especially since Tohru was going on his own, with Dojima gone all afternoon to pick up his nephew at the train station.

“Sure, I’ll go,” he said, looking as uninterested as possible.

In a normal situation, he would have complained mentally about how spoiled famous people were, but this was different. This was how he was going to meet his soul mate, after all. Their romantic first meeting. He would ask her about the affair, and she’d tell him that it was all a bunch of lies. They would clear her name together. And his. It would all be smooth sailing from there.

_They could go back to Tokyo, where he belonged._

However, when he finally got to meet her, Tohru was reminded once again that if fate existed, it was only to make his life miserable.

The bitch didn’t deny. She went all berserk on him, as if he meant nothing to her. As if they had no connection.

_He should have known that this whole soul mate thing was a lie. He had no soul mate. He was going to die alone, and everyone was a piece of shit anyway._

One moment she was mad at him, and the next she was gone, swallowed by the big TV screen in the inn’s lobby. Apparently, Tohru could throw entire people in there easily.

He laughed.

He didn’t know where the bitch had gone, but like hell if he cared. All that mattered was that he had finally found a practical use for his new power, and he loved it! If only he could have thrown all the whores that had rejected him his whole life in there, everything would have been so much better!

Anyway, it was too late for regrets. All he could do for now was use his new power, and make his life change for the better.

_Finally some thrill! This was going to be fun!_

.

Tohru didn’t think more about Yamano that night. He simply went back home, did whatever he did in the evening to make time go faster, and slept like a log.

He didn’t expect Dojima to be at the station so early the next morning. Yet, like every day, the man was sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee in hand, reading reports.

“I thought the chief said that you could come a bit later today,” the newcomer remarked after their usual greetings.

“Right, but I was called yesterday night, so I figured it would be busy at the station today,” the other replied with a sheepish look.

There was probably another reason for his coming early, but Tohru didn’t know what it was. All he could tell was that his partner was a terrible liar, and that there was something he wasn’t saying. He didn’t really care, though.

“Oh, I see. What happened?” he asked.

“Some minor incident,” Dojima replied evasively. “I heard you’ve been busy playing bodyguard and that’s why you weren’t called. Doesn’t that person need you today?”

“No, she sent me back home and said she would call again if she needed help,” Tohru lied blatantly.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered where Yamano was now… Not that he cared, of course. At least now, the world was rid of another bitch; and that was all that mattered.

“How is your nephew, by the way?” he asked to change the subject.

“Way taller than I expected, since he was a baby when I last saw him,” the other chuckled. “He’s also very quiet, and I don’t know what to make of him. I guess we’ll see.”

He seemed pretty pensive as he said that, and Tohru figured that it was probably as hard for him to deal with teenagers as it was dealing with kids. His senior protested a lot about him being a blabbermouth and a useless rookie, but at least he didn’t make kids run away from him.

_It was quite the opposite, unfortunately… But at least, there was Kaoru. ... There had been Kaoru._

Dojima soon went back to his files, and they spent the rest of the morning working in silence, only talking when necessary. Contrary to what the other had thought, this looked a lot like a calm day, even by the station’s standards.

Tohru was proved wrong soon after, when Dojima received a phone call. He expected something petty when the man said that he was coming right away and ordered him to come along, and he couldn’t repress a sinister smile of excitement when his partner announced ominously:

“It seems we have a murder case.”

_It was about time!_

.

Looking back on it, Tohru should have expected that whatever was behind the TV screen wasn’t some kind of nice parallel world, and that people never simply disappeared. Still, seeing the body of Mayumi hung on this TV antenna took him by surprise.

_He never intended to kill her. He just wanted to scare her a little._

And now here she was, dead. He managed to remain relatively calm while people took her down, but seeing her up close when Dojima started inspecting the body… Looking at her face forever frozen in an expression of pure terror… Knowing that he was the one responsible for that…

The other detective walked toward a group of high school students and started scolding them, leaving him alone with what was once Mayumi Yamano. She stared at him accusingly with her cold dead eyes. He ran away to throw up.

“Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie!” the older detective yelled at him as he ran past the group of teens.

_Good thing he’d been acting like an idiot ever since he came here._

He never had problems with dead bodies before, but given his general behavior now that he was in Inaba, it was no wonder his new colleagues weren’t surprised by this reaction.

He walked back to the crime scene once his stomach and his nerves had settled a bit. Dojima almost sent him home, but Tohru insisted on staying. He said something about having eaten something bad, and although the other clearly didn’t believe him, the result was the same and he got to stay. His partner was still keeping an eye on him, as if he might start throwing up on evidence.

_That would be useful though. If there was any evidence here, he needed it gone. That was why he needed to stay as involved in the case as possible, and it started with the first inspection of the crime scene._

From what they gathered—meaning: next to nothing—nothing seemed to point at Tohru. That came as a huge relief, and once he was certain that there was nothing useful to the case around here, he started eavesdropping on the interrogation of the girl who found the body.

_Rather cute, to be honest. Just the kind of girl he had his eyes on back in high school._

They stayed at the station late, working on their nonexistent evidence and useless testimonies as if they’d suddenly reveal something that would magically solve the case. Given the circumstances of Yamano’s death, it was highly unlikely, but Tohru still stayed, if only because Dojima would have gutted him if he didn’t.

Finally, after wasting their entire evening on that case, the other seemed to give up for the day and told him they should leave.

“It’s pretty late, I’ll drive you home,” he grumbled.

“Thank you, Sir!” Tohru replied happily.

He should have expected the ride to be gloomy. Dojima was looking in the distance, obviously thinking about the case. In the dim glow of the streetlights, he reminded Tohru of Mune more than ever. An older, respectable looking Mune wearing a tie, but still.

He pursed his lips and looked through the window instead, thinking of home.

_What he wouldn’t give to be back in Tokyo…_

Dojima dropped him at his doorstep, and told him to be at the station early the next day. Tohru nodded absentmindedly and walked inside his tiny apartment, still lost in his thoughts.

Maybe he could do something with the case, now that he thought about it. He used to think that he’d never go back home because nothing major would ever happen here, but a murder? This was a huge case! And he was the only one who knew the truth. If he managed to find a culprit and solve it by himself, then the higher ups would be forced to recognize his skills, right? And they couldn’t let him rot in this shithole after that! Meaning that he would be sent back to Tokyo; back to the Iwais and the perfect life he’d been forced to leave behind!

Tohru smiled. He didn’t have the details yet, but he was definitely going to use Yamano’s death to his advantage. Maybe the bitch wasn’t his soul mate, but she would be a perfect tool in his plan to go back to the city.

_Home._


	4. No More Saki in the Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my favorite chapter so far! I don't know why, but I really like it, and I hope you'll enjoy it too!
> 
> This time, Saki dies and Dojima has to tell her parents about it.
> 
> Have fun!

Solving a case by himself was great, but how could Tohru do it? He needed a culprit for that, and that person was him. There wasn’t even a proper suspect, since everyone who had a mobile also had a strong alibi.

_Dammit, why couldn’t Namatame be less sociable and spend his evenings on his own like a normal person?!_

Anyway, this game had just started, so he shouldn’t worry about that for now. He should just let the case stall for a while, and let the mystery grow to gather people’s attention. It would be annoying, but he’d have to wait. Something would probably come up in the meanwhile, if he just kept looking. Until then, the most important thing was to make sure no one would suspect him.

As he started to think about how, exactly, he would do that, the TV turned on all of a sudden and a silhouette appeared on the snowy screen. Tohru glanced at the clock. He hadn’t realized that it was midnight already. He studied the image until it disappeared, and started smiling.

So his new “soul mate” was the Konishi girl who’d found the body, huh…

Maybe he should pay her a visit soon. Or better yet, make her come to the station for another interrogation.

.

Ryou had been on the field for more than two decades, but having spent almost his entire life and career in a small town, nothing could have prepared him for a case like this one. There had been homicides in Inaba, of course, but only old Komuro, who had been on the force for almost forty years, could remember the last one. As for Ryou and most of his colleagues born in Inaba, they only had vague memories of it. He was still a kid when it happened, and even though it had been the talk of the town, he knew next to nothing about it.

And now here he was, having to deal with a sordid murder case. Suicide had been ruled out already, but if someone killed Ms. Yamano, he had no idea who it could be. Given how hard it had been to take the body down from the antenna, putting it up there seemed like quite a feat in itself, and it should have been near impossible to do it without leaving a single trace of DNA, or at least without being heard. Yet, there was nothing. No trace from the murderer, no witnesses, and not the tiniest clue.

_He’d still have to do his best to solve it. He couldn’t let a killer run free in the town he had sworn to protect._

“Are you okay, Sir? You look quite grim,” Adachi’s stupid voice interrupted him suddenly.

He closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath before reopening them. Most people did it as a way to calm down. He did it as a way to gather his anger before unleashing it violently and without mercy.

“Yes Adachi, I am grim. There’s been a murder and we have no clue! How do you want me to look?!” he replied, his voice getting louder with each word as his partner cowered.

“Sorry,” he whimpered.

He looked so pathetic somehow that it calmed Ryou down instantly. The kid was trying to help, and he was probably even more lost than his senior was.

“Go get me a coffee,” the older detective sighed, putting one hand on his face and waiving the other to dismiss him.

“Sure,” he heard.

The other was gone when he looked up again, and he walked back to his desk, wondering why he was so sensitive to Adachi’s pitiful expressions. Not that he could let the idiot notice though, or else he would find a way to use it in order to ditch work forever or something.

.

Apparently, Tohru’s next “soul mate” also had a thing for Namatame. That was just his luck…

Of course, he didn’t believe in that bullshit anymore, but what could those people appearing on blank TV screens at midnight mean then? Was it just a list of Namatame’s girlfriends? Or did it show all the sluts in Inaba maybe?

Well, the only way to prove or disprove a hypothesis was to test it after all, so he was going to call in Konishi for another interrogation. There was no one left at the station anyway, so it would be easy to do whatever he wanted with her.

She didn’t look pleased when he brought her to the interrogation room, and she was extremely rude. When did teenagers start talking like that to their elders? Especially when said elders were in a position of authority. The girl needed to be taught a lesson, but at the same time, she was so cute with her long wavy hair and that sweet uniform…

Tohru didn’t think much when he threw her in the small TV of the interrogation room, after the bitch had slapped him. How dare she? She’d been all buddy-buddy with Namatame but  _he_ wasn’t good enough for her?

_Girls these days were such a pain in the ass. This world was going straight to shit._

“Let me hear you beg a little! Maybe then I’ll let you out!” he screamed as he put his head inside the screen.

He didn’t see what was behind it. Everything was black, and he had no idea if he could even let her out. The only thing he knew was that he wasn’t going in there.

“Or maybe not. I would never walk into a death trap like that,” he added once his head was out, laughing in a way that sounded a lot more villainous than intended.

He left the station soon after, and for the first time since he’d set foot in this shithole of a town, he was feeling  _great_ ! The Konishi girl would probably be found dead the next day or so and he still had no idea how to build a case against whoever was going to take the fall for him, but at least the world was rid of another bitch. It was shit and beyond salvation, and yet he was still doing it a favor by cleaning its trash. How nice of him.

Plus, it meant that the case would be sure to bring more attention, which was perfect for his plan. The more people followed that story, the higher his chances to go home! He might have acted on a whim, but all in all, it had been a great move!

After all, what could be better than a homicide? A double homicide, of course!

He walked back to his sad little flat, laughing happily at his own joke. Too bad the world still wasn’t ready for his amazing sense of humor…

_Not sure Kaoru would have laughed at this one though…_

.

Ryou was the typical example of an early bird. There was nothing he loved more than quiet mornings where he could take his time to make coffee for his family and get ready for the day. The whole house was still sleeping at those hours, even Chisato when she was alive.

_She usually crept up behind him silently once she was up, trying to surprise him. Then, she got herself a cup of the coffee he’d made earlier and kept him company until she finished it, before going back upstairs to wake up Nanako._

Even now, Ryou still liked those moments. It had been hard to stop expecting his wife’s light footsteps in the staircase, but even that stopped hurting with time, and he eventually managed to turn morning back into a nice, albeit different routine. There were still tiny footsteps to be heard after a while, but they were lighter, less concealed. Nanako got ready on her own now. She didn’t need anyone to wake her up.

As he heard her that morning, Ryou got up to make her coffee.

“Morning, Dad,” she said when she arrived in the living room.

“Morning,” he replied as he put her pink cup on the table.

Nanako wasn’t talkative in the morning either, and they usually ate in silence. However, it was a different kind of silence from the one in the evening, when they had dinner together and didn’t know what to say to each other. This one was comfortable, and he loved sharing those quiet moments with her.

His phone rang suddenly, disrupting his train of thought. He sighed as he took the call, wondering why people would disturb him so early.

“Dojima-san, we need you to come right now. There’s another body.”

So long for his morning peace…

He hung up after saying he’d be on his way, and called Adachi right after. Since they were both required to come, it would be faster to pick him up at his place. The other sounded pretty sleepy, and Ryou told him that he’d better be ready before he arrived. He greeted his nephew, who was up pretty early for once, and left quickly.

Adachi looked like he was going to fall asleep any moment when the older detective came to pick him up. He was still struggling with his tie when he opened the door, and he looked even more disheveled than usual. Ryou had to repress the urge to shake him, and took matters into his own hands, finishing his partner’s tie knot quickly—making him look proper for the first time since he arrived here—before dragging him outside of his flat and inside the car.

“What is it with you people waking up so early?” the other grumbled on the way. “What are you? … Uh…”

He seemed too tired to find a proper analogy, and Ryou almost felt sorry for him.

“Chickens?” he offered helpfully.

“If you say so… Do chickens wake up early? How would I know?”

Adachi then rested his chin in his hand and remained silent for the rest of the trip.

They reached the crime scene fairly quickly. Officers were already securing the area when they arrived. Ryou knew the body hanging upside down, he realized with a frown as he lit a cigarette. But from where?

“Have we identified the victim?” he asked.

“Yes, Sir,” Sato replied. “This is Saki Konishi, from the liquor store.”

_The one who found Yamano’s body. Tomoki’s older daughter._

_Shit._

He inhaled deeply, letting tobacco fill his lungs, and he sighed a cloud of smoke before asking:

“Do her parents know?”

“Not yet. It’s still early, so we thought…”

Ryou shook his head. He knew this was going to be hard for them. And he knew the Konishis well. He didn’t like it, but he should be the one to tell them.

“I’ll do it, once I’m done here,” he announced.

The other nodded, and the detective got to work, giving clear instructions to everyone. Adachi seemed more awake now, and he was pretty efficient, for once. Ryou looked at his partner taking notes and inspecting the crime scene minutely, a tiny smile on his face. He didn’t know why, but he was proud of the guy finally taking things seriously.

After a while, Ryou checked his watch and realized that the liquor store would open soon. If he didn’t hurry, someone else might tell the Konishis about their daughter’s fate, and he really didn’t want that to happen. They were mostly done here, and his presence wasn’t really needed for whatever was left to do. He gave a few more instructions, and called Adachi to tell him they were going to see the victim’s parents. He could have left his partner here, but a small part of him didn’t want to do this alone.

_This was going to be hard, but there was no escaping it._

The trip to the shopping district was way too short for the detective’s liking, and he barely listened to Adachi’s babbling, too lost in his own thoughts. It wasn’t the first time he had to announce someone’s death, of course (there weren’t many occasions, but accidents and suicides happened), yet this was different. It wasn’t just some accident, it was a  _murder_ . Plus, Tomoki and he went to school together. They had never been very close, but Ryou went to his shop sometimes and they were always happy to talk. And now, he had to come tell him that his daughter was dead…

The shop wasn’t open yet when they arrived, so the detective knocked on the back door, the one that led to their house. Tomoki was the one who opened.

“Ah, Ryou-kun. Long time no see. Isn’t it a bit early to be buying alcohol? We’re not even open,” he said with a forced smile.

He looked tense, as if he was expecting the worst already. Then, he noticed Adachi behind him, and his poor façade crumbled.

“This is about Saki, right?” he asked gravely. “She left yesterday and didn’t come back. We’ve been looking for her all morning.”

So they suspected it already…

“May we come in?” he asked softly.

Tomoki nodded and let them in before calling his wife. Her expression changed when she saw who their guests were. Her eyes opened wide, and her mouth fell a little. They all ended up in the living room, and as soon as everyone was seated, Tomoki asked:

“What happened to Saki?”

Ryou took a deep breath. He really needed a cigarette right now. And a few glasses of hard liquor.

“We’ve found Saki’s body early this morning,” he announced.

Everyone remained silent for a moment, until Saki’s mother let out a sob that seemed to contain all the sadness in the world. It wasn’t followed by anything. There were no tears or wails. Only that single sound that escaped her lips despite her best efforts, and that was it.

Ryou had reacted more like Tomoki, when he’d learned about Chisato’s death. Saki’s father was keeping a neutral expression, but his entire body was tense, as if it would break into pieces if he let himself relax.

“What happened?” his wife asked first.

“We don’t know yet. She was hanging on an antenna pole, just like Ms. Yamano.”

The rest of the conversation was draining for everyone. Adachi didn’t talk much, and the Konishis replied to his questions and asked theirs slowly, as if they needed to muster the strength to form a complete sentence without breaking into tears. When Ryou finally walked out of the house, he inhaled deeply and realized that he had barely breathed the whole time he’d been inside. He walked toward the car slowly, closely followed by his partner, and he let himself fall on the driver’s seat.

“We need to go back to the station,” he muttered, feeling completely exhausted.

“We don’t have to go now, do we?” Adachi asked, his voice a lot softer than usual. “I think you should rest a bit. This was hard and you don’t look well.”

Ryou turned his head to meet the other’s concerned look, and his eyes went back to the wheel as he accepted the offer, defeated. He’d wanted to decline at first, but he was really feeling down. His heart was heavy in his chest, and he didn’t feel like moving. He needed some time to collect himself.

“Should I go buy a coffee at the gas station?” his partner offered.

He nodded silently, and the other walked out of the car, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He knew this was going to be hard, but he’d never imagined that it would affect him so much. To think that they didn’t have the slightest answer to give to Saki’s parents… They didn’t even know how their daughter died! There was no trace of violence on the body, and if she’d died like Yamano, forensics wouldn’t find anything either. It had only been three days, and they had two bodies already! How many more until they found the slightest clue? When would this madness even stop?!

He punched the wheel without thinking, to let out some of the frustration. It only managed to make his fist hurt. He sighed as he rested his head against it. He stayed like that for a while, and only raised it once Adachi was back with two coffees. He grabbed his cup thankfully, and let it sit in his hands while it cooled a bit. Just the smell was appeasing, and now that he was feeling a little better, he was glad to have someone by his side. The other didn’t say a word, and Ryou relaxed in his seat before taking a sip of his drink.

_Not too bad. Slightly better than the one Adachi usually made._

He drank it in silence, feeling the pang in his chest get lighter as the coffee warmed him. It was just what he needed.

“Thanks for the coffee, I’m ready to go now,” he announced soon after. “I shouldn’t have let it affect me like this, but Tomoki and I go way back, you now. I come to their shop from time to time, and I saw Saki grow up there.”

He sighed, wondering why he was telling him this, all of a sudden. Adachi didn’t reply, which he was grateful for. He put his empty cup in the holder, surprised to see that the other hadn’t touched his coffee, and announced that they were leaving. Adachi still didn’t reply, which was starting to puzzle him. He turned his head toward him.

The idiot was sleeping.

Ryou pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Then, he shook the other violently, telling him to wake up.

“Uh, what?” Adachi slurred.

“Seriously, how can you fall asleep in a situation like this?” his unfortunate partner grumbled.

“Oops, sorry Sir. I’m not used to waking up so early,” the other replied with a disarming smile.

Apparently, the sleepy look and mussed up hair made this expression even more powerful, and Ryou’s anger melted instantly. He still scolded him for the form, and started the car to drive them back to the station. To be honest, he was glad to have Adachi by his side. He didn’t seem to care about his moment of weakness, and even now that he was awake and whining, there was no trace of judgment in his attitude.

_He was a moron for sure, but he seemed like a well-meaning one._

.

After starting his workday at six, Tohru still took the night shift. There was a slight possibility that someone might call about the murders, and if nothing happened, it would mean that he could sleep, which was also good. He just hoped that he wouldn’t regret his decision of taking Sakai’s shift. The guy had asked in the afternoon if someone could exchange with him, since he wanted to stay with his daughter, who allegedly was a close friend of Konishi. The detective had accepted before he even understood why.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine, Adachi-san? You’ve started quite early,” the other had said with a hopeful look.

Obviously, no one else had offered. Even Tohru was regretting his words already, and the guy only protested weakly before thanking him.

“He’ll be fine,” Dojima had intervened. “He’s been sleeping all day to make up for it.”

He couldn’t tell if his partner was joking or not, but that was how he’d ended up working at the station for the night.

Now that he thought about it, no one had asked to finish earlier for Yamano. And no one seemed as affected by her death. What kind of place was that, where local celebrities were less mourned than nameless high school students? Was it because everyone in town knew her family? After all, it seemed that even Dojima knew them well.

_Why did he offer to tell them what happened, then? He could have sent small fry to do that. Why did he have to do it himself?_

The whole scene started playing in his head, and Tohru saw once again the Konishis’ sad looks, the way they seemed so close to shattering. Even Dojima looked like he was going to break any second. As for him, he was pretty relieved that they didn’t know where their daughter had been the night before, but that was all. He just couldn’t bring himself to care about her death. She was a bitch who got what she deserved, he told himself again, ignoring the pang in his chest that wasn’t guilt.

_She deserved it. And he did what he had to in order to go home! He wasn’t even doing it for himself, he was doing it for the Iwais; so he could go back to them soon!_

The detective gritted his teeth as he tried to chase the annoying feeling. Then, the phone rang and he took the call quickly, thankful for the opportunity to think about something else.

He was mostly expecting something pointless, and he smiled when he realized that it was Namatame, especially when he heard what the man had to say. This was good! Perfect, even! Of course, having someone know about the Midnight Channel and the people inside the TV was bad for him, but it seemed that the other had no idea how the two women died.

He grinned when he declared that he didn’t believe anything, which was what any other cop would have said anyway. Then, he told the guy that if he was so sure about his nonsense, maybe he could take matters into his own hands and put the future victims somewhere safe; somewhere no one would find them.

_Hopefully, the moron would take the bait. After all, someone stupid enough to call the police about paranormal stuff would probably do something like that. He seemed pretty adamant about saving them, so he would do it himself if he had to. He sounded like that kind of person._

He laughed joyfully as he ended the call. If everything went according to his plan, then Namatame would put people inside the TV for him. Tohru didn’t care how he’d do it, it just meant that unless the other couldn’t take a hint, from now on, all he had to do was sit back and enjoy the show. Then, after enough time passed, the detective could put the blame for all the murders on him! No one else would suspect that man in the meanwhile, since he had an alibi for Yamano. Only Tohru would, and that would mean solving the case on his own.

_If the higher ups didn’t call him back to Tokyo after that…_

His plan to go back home was finally complete, he realized with a smile. Soon, he’d see Mune and Kaoru again!


	5. Yukiko-ver Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never, here's the new chapter!
> 
> Sorry about the delay, I've been hit by a huge wave of "why do it anyway, it's not like anybody cares about your stories". I don't usually let it affect me, but I guess heat didn't help either...  
> Anyway, I've decided to stop being a baby and post it anyway, so there you go.
> 
> This time, the disappearances start and Adachi finally meets Nanako.
> 
> Enjoy!

Tohru couldn’t believe that Namatame did it! He threw someone inside the TV, seriously thinking that he was rescuing her! The detective didn’t recognize the silhouette on the screen when it first appeared, but the other apparently knew people in Inaba very well (or at least better than him*). Now, Tohru only had to wait until the girl from the Amagi Inn died in there, and then he could find a way to blame Namatame for all three murders. Or maybe he’d just wait a bit more, to make sure no one would question the murder for which the guy had an alibi.

_Life was going his way again. It was about time!_

He hadn’t expected to see anything on the Midnight Channel once Amagi was inside the TV, but he still watched it out of curiosity the night she disappeared, and what he saw on screen didn’t disappoint him at all! His only regret was that he could have recorded it. Maybe.

_Was it possible to record something on a channel that didn’t exist? He’d have to try next time, if there was one!_

Tohru never thought that there would be an entire world behind the TV. He didn’t know what to think of that. All he knew was that the princess on screen was completely different from the girl he’d seen on the news earlier, and it further confirmed his theory that the Midnight Channel only showed bitches.

Anyway, he had a good laugh, and the hardest thing for him now would be to act like he deeply cared about the girl’s safety and truly wanted to find her, when in reality he couldn’t care less what happened to her. However, he’d spent the past two months acting like he was happy in Inaba when he really just wanted to burn the place to the ground and go back to the city, so acting a little concerned wouldn’t be so hard compared to what he had to do on a daily basis.

.

Ryou couldn’t believe that he had to deal with a disappearance just a few days after Yamano’s and Saki’s deaths. At least they had enough time to file a report for once, but who knew how long they had until they found her dead body, hanging from an antenna like the other two?

_What was going on in this town? There hadn’t been a homicide in thirty years and now here they were, dealing with two gruesome murders and a missing child. When did this place become so dangerous?_

He sighed as he kept reviewing the reports, trying to find a lead, half a clue, anything that could help with their most urgent case. However, he was soon interrupted by ruckus in the station, and he found himself having to deal with his nephew and his new friend who had apparently been wielding weapons at Junes.

_As if he didn’t have enough problems as it was._

He sent them back home with a good scolding, only to find them with Adachi a few minutes later, talking about the case. Apparently, the moron couldn’t keep his mouth shut about it. What did he need to tell them all that for? He yelled again, this time at his stupid partner, wondering why everyone around him was interfering with his job today. Especially Adachi. He’d never expected much from him, of course, but he still thought that he would have learned to keep his mouth shut around civvies by now!

“Go get me a coffee!” he barked.

Tohru had to repress the urge to roll his eyes dramatically. Why was Dojima spoiling the fun? It was so good to mess with the worried kids and tell them silly theories with a straight face. Their looks when he said they were suspecting Amagi of the murders was priceless!

And yet, like every time he was enjoying himself, his stupid partner had to ruin everything by asking for a damn coffee.

_“Go get it yourself!”_ he wanted to spit once he overcame his initial fright. He’d always wanted to say that, but right now, the urge was stronger than ever. However, he had a role to play, he reminded himself, so instead of snapping, he did his best to look sorry and intimidated—which wasn’t hard at all, if he was honest with himself—and ran to make the drink, wondering how long the other was going to treat him like a slave. As a revenge, he added some vanilla flavor he found, hoping his _senpai_ would hate it, and choke on the last sip while he was at it.

.

For everyone at the station, hearing about the Amagi girl being back was the greatest news of the week. They were all cheering and clapping in the room when they got the call from her parents that she’d come home safely, as if they had done anything to help that happen.

Tohru, on the other hand, was baffled. How did she come out alive? Why was she safe when the two others were dead? He’d have to investigate that. The only positive thing here was that she couldn’t do anything to point the police in his direction, since he wasn’t involved at all in her disappearance.

_Could it be that Namatame found a way to let her out? Did her little friends help her maybe? After all, he’d heard them talking about her. And they had seemed very interested in her case when they were at the station…_

Anyway, it didn’t matter for now. He could do with a missing person, especially if the girl reported a kidnapping. Another homicide would have been great, but this was better than nothing.

“Her parents said that she’s too tired to talk to us now, but they will contact us once she’s recovered,” the cop who got the news said.

Ryou nodded with a ~~smile~~ frown. While everyone was celebrating Yukiko Amagi’s sudden and unexpected reappearance, he felt more concerned than relieved. Something wasn’t right. She apparently didn’t remember anything, and even if she did… Why was she the only one who survived so far? What had happened to her, and to the two others? Sure, the fact that she was alive and well was great news, but there were still way too many unanswered questions.

He didn’t know why, but his eyes automatically searched for Adachi, and he was surprised to notice that his partner seemed as thoughtful and concerned as he was. Then, the other saw him and put on a smile, as bright and happy as the other people at the station. However, given how upset he looked before, it seemed a bit off.

Once the moment of joy was over, Adachi returned to his desk. They went back to work silently, and as the station got a bit emptier, Ryou couldn’t help but declare:

“Something’s off with this case.”

Adachi looked up with a confused expression.

“About Amagi. Everyone is acting like it’s fine and everything is solved, but she still got abducted, and we have no clue as to who did that. Or how she escaped. And I have a feeling that this is only the beginning…”

“But isn’t it good that she came back? She’ll probably be able to tell us everything we need, once she gets better,” the other replied with a bright and clueless smile.

_Maybe Ryou had dreamed the more serious expression earlier…_

They kept working in silence until Adachi declared that if they weren’t leaving soon, he was going to have instant noodles.

“Do you want some?” he asked.

The detective sighed. He was starving too, but he’d rather be at home for once. And since there was no reason to worry about Amagi now, he might as well do that. He glanced at his partner, who was giving him a hopeful look, and he gave up.

“I can’t bear hearing you slurping on those noodles anymore. We’re going home; you’re eating with us,” he grumbled.

That sounded a lot more like an order than he intended, but fortunately for him, Adachi didn’t seem to mind. His hopeful expression turned into a sparkling grin, as if all of his dreams had suddenly come true, and he nodded happily.

“Good, we’re leaving then. The rest can wait until tomorrow,” he decided as he got up to grab his jacket.

Tohru followed him, too glad to have some real food to care about where the offer came from. Plus, that would mean that he’d finally get to meet the infamous Nanako whose handwriting was so much better than his; and the nephew who was probably meddling with his plans.

It wasn’t his first time at Dojima’s house, but the man always invited him when they finished work late at night, and the little girl was already in bed. Tohru didn’t know what being invited for dinner meant, but that couldn’t be a bad thing.

_And in any case, free food was always welcome in his life!_

He wasn’t sure what he expected Nanako to be like, but there was something about her that reminded him of Kaoru. Maybe it was something every only child living with a single father shared? In any case, she seemed tolerable.

Tohru easily found his place in the family’s dynamic. His first time at the Iwais had been so stressful for him, he remembered with a hint of nostalgia. Here, however, everything was simple because he didn’t give a shit about making a good impression. Who cared if Dojima was slapping him for talking too much and messing with Yu? Or for being impolite? He didn’t want to be here anyway, and the whole scene of a cute family dinner made him want to puke.

_What a bunch of idiots… And Dojima was the worst of all! To think that he’d invite the culprit he was trying so hard to catch for dinner with his precious daughter and nephew…_

The situation was so ridiculous that if it weren’t for the pitiful little family, he’d probably be dying of laughter already!

_Would he ever have dinner with Mune and Kaoru again? Did they miss him, now that he was gone?_

Tohru smiled at something Yu said instead of letting out the sad sigh that had formed in his chest. If his plan worked, he would see them again soon, he reminded himself. But for now, he’d have to settle for the Dojimas.

.

In the end, Amagi couldn’t remember a single useful thing. That seemed to frustrate Dojima to no end. As for Tohru, he didn’t know what to think of it yet. He’d have to look further into it to see how she got out and what Namatame would do from now on. For now, he’d only managed to find out how the guy did it, and he had do admit that using his status as a delivery man was very clever of him. Hence, if Tohru was the only one to bring this method to light, it would make him look very clever as well. It would be perfect for his image.

“I don’t like this,” his partner repeated for the umpteenth time since Amagi left the station.

“What is it this time, Sir?” he asked.

He didn’t know why, but he loved seeing the other getting worked up over nothing and trying so hard to find a rational explanation for something that was anything but rational. He’d never accept “some people can throw other people inside TV screens, into a world where they die and reappear in ours hanged on an antenna” as the indisputable truth, and so he’d never find anything. That being said, the media would never accept that as the truth either, which was protecting both himself and Namatame at the moment.

_He had to find a proper explanation for that, if he wanted to put the guy in jail._

Meanwhile, Dojima explained:

“Everyone is acting like we’ve made a huge step forward ever since the Amagi girl came back alive, but they’re wrong. First of all, we still have no clue. And even though she confirmed that she didn’t run away on her own…” He paused for a second and sighed. “We can’t keep working like this, elaborating over nothing.”

Ryou tapped the desk a few times, still thinking about it, but he knew it was useless. He couldn’t build a case out of thin air.

“Come with me, we’re going out for a drink,” he muttered as he walked outside.

“Oh, okay,” Adachi replied as he quickly followed him.

Ryou didn’t know why, but he liked the company, even though his partner was more annoying than anything most of the time. He made awful puns that made his senior want to punch the goofy smile out of his face and into the moon, he couldn’t read a situation, he forgot important things all the time, and for some reason, it was exactly what the detective needed. At least he was here, for better or worse.

Somehow, his mind seemed to only focus on Adachi that night. His thoughts about the two murders dissolved in his first beer, and when he turned to check on his partner, the guy gave him a tentative smile, like every time their eyes met. It looked like he was unsure how he was supposed to respond. For once, Ryou smiled back.

_He’d always found it adorable._

Then, the other seemed to notice, and the detective ordered another beer to hide his embarrassment. Those weren’t appropriate thoughts to have about his colleague, he reminded himself. However, this idea dissolved in the second beer, and by the third, he was starting to wonder what it was that made him like the harmless idiot so much.

_Maybe it was… Or it could be… Ugh, he couldn’t pinpoint it exactly._

“Sir, are you okay? Maybe we should leave,” Adachi said with a concerned look.

Ryou was ready to refuse, but he then realized that he had drunk more than three beers already. And he was feeling tired.

“Fine, just let me pay and we’ll be on our way,” he sighed.

_Maybe he liked Adachi so much because he was always looking out for him…_

As his partner helped him walk straight, he snorted. How pitiful could he be to let someone like _Adachi_ look after him? And yet, here he was… If Chisato was here, she’d be so disappointed in him… But she wasn’t, and that was the real problem.

.

Tohru was bored to his wits end. With Amagi outside the TV and no one appearing on the Midnight Channel these days, there hadn’t been a single interesting event in his life.

_Inaba was such a boring, dead shithole meant to suck out his will to live…_

He’d investigated a bit, trying to perfect his plan, but there was nothing left to do about it either. As for Dojima, he’d decided to spend the evening at home, now that Amagi was back, and Tohru felt that they weren’t spending much time together these days, which pissed him off a lot more than he would have thought. He didn’t really like hanging out with his partner, but it was about the only thing that kept him from being bored, besides killing people and watching everyone run around in panic, trying to arrest the “mysterious killer”.

_All of this because the guy wanted to “keep an eye on his nephew”… What kind of excuse was that? Wasn’t Tohru enough for him? Why couldn’t Dojima let the kid take care of his other kid and entertain him instead, like he said he would?_

Mune wouldn’t have done that, he thought with a pang of sadness. He always found time for Kaoru _and_ for him. And now, the cop had lost him because of some stupid mistake, and his plan would never work, and he’d be stuck in this shithole forever. And even Dojima wouldn’t be here to help ease the boredom, because he had apparently stopped caring about him.

Tohru bit his lower lip mindlessly as he thought that, trying to will the tears that had started forming back inside his eyes. He forced himself to breathe and managed to turn the sadness back into anger and frustration, something useful he could take advantage of to return to a better place.

_To the one place he truly belonged to, and the reason why he didn’t need Dojima anyway._

The thought reminded Tohru of the box under his couch, and he retrieved it to check its content and maybe unpack it for real. There wasn’t much inside: Mune’s model gun with an engraved gecko, an apron, and a few of Kaoru’s drawings. The kid didn’t draw often, since he preferred to read, but he sometimes tried to depict scenes from his favorite books, often with interesting results. They weren’t that good, but they weren’t crappy either, and Tohru had always found that they had a certain charm.

_Kids his age changed a lot, and quickly. That was what Mune always told him, at least. How long until the boy forgot about him?_

He gritted his teeth and put the drawings aside to grab the apron he got as a joke for Christmas. For some reason, Mune was always trying to make him wear one. Once, when Kaoru was sleeping over at a friend’s place, Tohru had invited him over for dinner. He’d cooked everything that day, and made sure to welcome his guest wearing nothing but the apron. The results of this experiment had been more than satisfying, and the cop couldn’t repress a smile as he remembered that day.

_And now, all of this was behind him and he couldn’t even cook anymore because the memories were too painful._

He pursed his lips in annoyance and put everything back inside the box, which went back under the couch where he’d left it the first time. He then laid on it with his eyes wide open, and spent most of the evening lost in thoughts about home and how much he missed it.

_Ugh, how pathetic… That was why he needed something to happen!_

As he thought that, the TV turned on suddenly, and a silhouette appeared on it. Tohru sat up excitedly and looked at it intently, trying to see if he would recognize the person on screen.

“Who’s the next bitch on the list?” he asked out loud.

Then, it hit him that whoever’s image it was, it couldn’t belong to a woman. The person was tall and muscular, and generally gave the impression of being a punk. Tohru knew someone like that, now that he thought about it…

The image disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and the cop finally remembered where he’d seen that guy. He was the one who beat up whole a gang because they were too noisy! Dojima and he had to take him to the station because he was being violent and uncooperative, and the little shit had been nothing but disrespectful to Tohru.

_So he would be the next victim, huh… Served him well!_

He didn’t really fit the bitch pattern though…

.

Yu and his friends had been snooping around the Tatsumis’ textile shop, and Kanji disappeared the day after. Ryou didn’t suspect his nephew to be responsible, of course, but the kids had a way of always being at the wrong place at the wrong time that really ticked him off. However, it wasn’t the most annoying thing here.

_What he hated the most about the whole situation was…_

“Are we certain that he even got kidnapped? He’s always been trouble, so I wouldn’t put it past Kanji to run away or something!” one of the officers announced.

The detective sighed.

_…this._

He knew Sato wasn’t the only one who thought this way. Apparently, Ryou was the only person here who really cared about what happened to the poor kid. Sure, Kanji was a little rough around the edges, and dealing with him was usually a pain, but that was beside the point. He was still one of them, and he might be in danger!

“You don’t agree, Sir?” Adachi said, in a way that could have been both a question and an affirmation.

“Kanji is a pain, I’ll give you that. But I know it’s just an act. Deep down, he’s a good kid who wouldn’t leave his mom alone for no reason. He’s never done that before and if Mrs. Tatsumi is worried, then we should be, too. There’ve been murders around here, dammit!” he finished angrily, banging his fist on the table.

Adachi jolted, but no one else seemed fazed. His colleagues were used to his sudden fits of rage.

“How can you be so sure?” his partner asked with a genuinely curious look.

“I know the kid. And he pretty much reminds me of myself when I was young,” Ryou muttered, more for himself than for the other.

“You mean you were fighting noisy biker gangs?”

“More like I was the one on the bike…” he mumbled mindlessly.

Adachi looked at him with big, surprised eyes.

“Forget about it!” Ryou added quickly.

_Why did he even say that? Was Adachi rubbing off on him?_

“Whatever, Sir. You’ll tell me all about your past as a dangerous biker later,” his partner declared with a bright smile.

He deserved the punch he got for saying that. He really did.

.

Tohru couldn’t breathe. He was trying, really, but then the Kanji on screen said something and he lost the battle again. That was it. That was how he died: laughing in front of a local terror talking about finding real men in a crappy bathhouse, dressed in nothing but a _fundoshi_. The detective almost managed to calm down, but then the guy started running and that was the last straw.

Once the TV screen went black again and Tohru confirmed—to his disappointment—that the recording function didn’t work on the Midnight Channel, he took a moment to catch his breath. Maybe that kid fit the bitch pattern after all, he mused.

 

* * *

 

*It wasn’t hard since Tohru hardly knew anyone beside his colleagues; and he didn’t even know all of them.


	6. Kanji See the Love Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit late again because I'm forgetful, but here's the new chapter!
> 
> Today's chapter involves cryptic conversations, making out, and lots of regrets (but not for long).  
> I'm also fulfilling sendgays' wishes, in a way~
> 
> Enjoy!

Adachi and Ryou had finished late every day that week, and it wasn’t getting any better. They were doing everything in their power to find Kanji, but it led nowhere, and Ryou knew that the only reason why he kept working like that was that if he didn’t, he’d just end up feeling like a horrible person.

_Pretty much like for Chisato’s case, now that he thought about it. When was the last time he’d found a clue or anything helpful?_

He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes with a sigh, trying to focus on his job again, but it was no use. It was way too late already, and it had only been Adachi and him at the station for quite a while now.

“Are you done with your work?” he asked gruffly.

His partner had been ditching work more and more often these days, as if he needed Ryou to constantly breathe down on his neck to get anything done. He looked up to see the other man staring at him blankly.

“Adachi!” he called, a lot more roughly than intended.

“What? Sure, Sir, almost done!” Adachi said before getting back to work quickly.

Fortunately for him, it only took him a couple of minutes to finish everything. The older detective watched him write diligently, wondering why the guy couldn’t be that efficient all the time. Adachi only stopped from time to time to look up, and he went back to work as soon as their eyes met. Ryou could feel his stern expression soften between each glance, and he had to really keep an eye on the other to make sure that he wasn’t caught with a gentle look.

“I’m done, Sir,” Adachi finally declared.

“Good. We’re going to my place. The kids are probably in bed already. What do you want to eat?”

Why his casual offers always ended up sounding like orders, Ryou didn’t know. His partner never seemed to mind, anyway. He simply said that Aiya sounded good, and they were off. Was it the company or the prospect of free food that made Adachi so eager to accept? Ryou wondered sometimes.

_Maybe the real reason why he always offered to pay was because he was afraid of being turned down if he didn’t…_

He sighed. It was his duty as a _senpai_ anyway, he reminded himself. After all, even to this day, his own mentor always paid the bill whenever they met. And Ryou wasn’t easily lured by free food, contrary to Adachi.

.

They drank a lot that night. Maybe too much. They’d bought take out at Aiya on the way, and as they were both sitting on Dojima’s couch with one too many beers in hand, the guy started complaining about how Nanako was now talking about her amazing “Big Bro” all day.

“The kid’s weird,” he said at some point. “Always snooping around crime scenes…”

Tohru nodded knowingly. He had no idea what the other’s point was, but it didn’t really matter. The guy looked a lot like Mune that night, and it was all that mattered to him.

“I heard him talk with his new friend, y’know. The Junes kid,” he continued. “Something about how they didn’t want to go to a bathhouse because they were scared? But the girls were going to force them, they said. And they had to rescue whoever they were talking about soon because it was going to rain, and the girl on the roof said there would be fog.”

 _Now,_ that _was interesting! It confirmed his suspicions that they were the ones who saved Amagi last time._

“Those kids make no sense…” Dojima then concluded, shaking his head slowly.

“They were probably just talking about a game or something,” Tohru dismissed, waving his hand vaguely.

He knew that his partner would never believe the whole TV thing anyway, but it was better to make sure he didn’t suspect a thing.

Dojima was looking at him now, which was unsettling. Was there something on his face? Did he want to see how long it would take to make him lower his eyes?

_Mune used to do that a lot… And he always won._

Tohru withstood his gaze for a while, wondering why the other looked so much like his “(ex) whatever-they-were-having” tonight. Maybe it was the way he was staring at him? Or maybe there was something else. He had to get closer to figure it out, he decided.

“Uh… Adachi? What are you doing?” Dojima asked hesitantly.

That was a good question, Tohru realized. When did he crawl on the guy’s lap?! And why? He knew he’d thought “closer” but that was clearly too close, and he needed to find a good excuse for that, right this instant!

“Oh, um, that’s because I… Uh…”

 _‘Back off! Back off, you idiot! Why are you still on his lap?!’_ his brain reminded him.

He initiated a strategic retreat, but Dojima suddenly grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving, and kissed him roughly.

_That was unexpected…_

It was messy, awkward, and Dojima reeked of cigarette and alcohol. Yet, for some reason, Tohru found himself kissing him back. Maybe that man didn’t taste like sugar and artificial fruit flavors, but the prickly stubble and firm, calloused hands on his hips made up for it. He heard him grunt against his lips, and as he resolutely kept his eyes shut, Tohru let himself drown in the fake feeling that he was home at last.

Then, they broke the kiss and he opened his eyes slowly. He was back in shitty Inaba and there was no Mune in front of him; just plain old Dojima who didn’t even understand text messages and was currently looking at him with a baffled expression, as if he wasn’t the one who kissed him in the first place.

Tohru let out an exasperated sigh and decided to kiss him again before the other could do anything, playing make believe once more as he shifted his position to sit more comfortably on Fake Mune’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. The guy didn’t complain and even seemed to enjoy it a lot. There was something longing and almost desperate in the way he was touching him, grabbing his hips to bring him closer, as if he was afraid of him disappearing. Probably a dead wife thing, Tohru thought.

“We shouldn’t do this…” Dojima whispered after their second kiss.

Oh, on the contrary, Tohru realized. They should absolutely do this, because the closer he was to the main detective working on the case, the less he was going to be suspected for the murders. Plus, the hand resolutely gripping on his shirt made it hard for him to believe the man’s words.

“But I want to,” he said, telling himself that the whine in his voice was something he added on purpose.

He then went for another kiss, deciding that it didn’t matter if Dojima tasted like an alcoholic ashtray, but the hands holding him loosened their grip and Tohru thought for a second that he’d be pushed away. Instead, they kept wandering his body, and things were starting to feel really good until they heard footsteps above them. He found himself getting away from the other man and sitting haphazardly on the couch again, with his partner panting heavily next to him, his cheeks a deep shade of red thanks to alcohol and embarrassment.

No one came down, since it was probably just one of the kids getting a glass of water or something, but the mood was still ruined.

“You can crash on the couch,” Dojima muttered after a long and uncomfortable silence.

“I’ll just go home,” Tohru replied as he reluctantly got up and grabbed his things.

His host showed him to the door and he walked all the way to his flat, letting the cold air of the spring night clear his thoughts a bit.

_Well, this had been an interesting turn of events…_

.

_This had been a mistake. A horrible mistake. They shouldn’t do it ever again._

Thus thought Ryou the next morning, as he woke up with a bit of a headache and vivid memories of what he did with his partner the night before. This was highly unprofessional of him and he should have stopped right away, instead of waiting for Yu or Nanako to almost see them making out on the couch. Sure, no one came downstairs in the end, but what would they have done if one of the kids had?

_And what should he do, now that they had kissed and he couldn’t deny how he felt for Adachi any longer?_

The detective sighed as he rolled on his futon with a groan. How did this even happen? One day he   was complaining about being partnered with an unlikable moron, and now he was torturing himself over the fact that he’d drunkenly kissed him…

Sure, Adachi was the one who’d ended up on his lap in the first place, looking at him intently. And he kissed him the second time. And the third. So maybe he liked him back…

_But they should have still stopped at one kiss! Or zero. Zero would have been great._

Still, Ryou somehow felt like it was bound to happen. After all, he had been shyly testing boundaries for the past few months. Giving his partner a tie, inviting him over for a drink, then to his home, then for dinner with his family… Telling him more about his life day after day, letting him see his moments of weakness… There seemed to be no limit to what he could do with Adachi, and so he kept going further, wondering where he’d meet resistance. And now, there was this kiss—those kisses, actually—and the detective realized too late that he should have put a stop to it before it came down to this. He knew how he felt, after all. He should have distanced himself from the other when he had the chance! He was the senior here, he should be the responsible one!

 _“But I want to,”_ Adachi whispered in his mind before leaning in for another kiss.

Ryou sighed, cursing the fact that the mere memory of the event was enough to fluster him.

He hadn’t kissed anyone since Chisato. People had expected him to replace her right after her death, but he saw her—or rather, the absence of her—in every woman he met. And now there was Adachi, who was the exact opposite of her, a man he wanted to protect and help put his life together instead of the strong-willed woman he’d fallen in love with so many years ago.

Maybe it was what made it so easy to fall for him, he realized. They were so different that he just couldn’t compare the two, and now he was stuck with those unwanted feelings.

_Great._

He sat up, drank the glass of water he’d left at his bedside, and got ready for the day. It was late already, by his standards, and he should really focus on finding Kanji. The kid had disappeared for about ten days already, which was a lot longer than even the Amagi girl, and they still had no idea where he could be. If he died, his mother would never forgive them, and Ryou knew for a fact that her son’s fits of anger were nothing compared to hers.

_Plus, the more he focused on Kanji, the less he’d have to think about what happened with Adachi the night before._

.

Just like the other victim, Kanji came back home on his own, without the police having done a single thing to help. The fog had come to town and lifted without leaving any corpse behind.

_What a shame…_

People at the station cheered a lot less for that punk than they did for Amagi, and Tohru was pretty sure that it wasn’t just because this time they knew they’d been perfectly useless again.

_Funny how everything was always so much more important when there was a cute girl involved…_

Just like last time, Dojima looked really grim when he heard the news. He might be a stubborn idiot, but at least he was being realistic. Their eyes met, and he quickly looked the other way.

He’d been acting like that ever since they kissed in his living room. They hadn’t even talked about it. Not that Tohru minded, though. He felt a bit guilty about betraying Mune like this.

The two of them didn’t stay at the station too late that day. Kanji needed to rest before he could be interrogated, so there wasn’t anything more they could do for now. When most people got ready to leave, Dojima turned to him and said with an unsure look:

“Adachi, do you want to…”

He paused, scratched the back of his neck, and apparently gave up on his first idea as he continued:

“Never mind. I’m going home early. You should do the same.”

He avoided looking at Tohru the whole time, which was something that happened often these days.

“Sure,” he nodded happily. “Thank you, Sir!”

How long was that guy going to avoid him? He wondered. He didn’t miss the company, of course, but he was bored again and… At least the free food was nice?

.

Kanji came back with no more useful information than Amagi (but a much better attitude than usual), and Ryou now had no excuse to keep avoiding Adachi. It didn’t mean that he would stop trying, though. Yu had started working in the evening, but he sometimes came to him for a talk now, and it made his uncle realize that maybe he should spend more time with his family. Especially since he could easily work on Chisato’s file from home.

Hence, instead of spending his free time hanging out with his partner like he used to, he now spent it at home. It didn’t make his conversations with his nephew and daughter less awkward, but at least he felt like he was trying. Plus, an awkward conversation (or no conversation at all) was much better than the weird tension he could feel whenever he was with Adachi, or his sudden impulses to kiss him or ruffle his hair, or just to touch him in any way possible (which sometimes ended up with a punch followed by a wave of guilt).

_And that was without mentioning the memory of Adachi’s half-closed eyes and flushed cheeks when…_

Anyway, he’d rather spend time with his family.

“Adachi, we’re leaving,” Ryou announced once his own urgent work was done, grabbing a few files to work on at home.

“Already, Sir? But… I’m not done at all!” Adachi replied with an agitated look.

“What do you mean you’re not done?” his _senpai_ asked with a frown. “What have you been doing all day? Even now, you were just looking in the distance!”

“S-sorry, Sir. I guess I was just daydreaming?” the idiot explained with his trademark embarrassed laugh.

_Why did Ryou find it so cute now?_

He still let out an exasperated sigh, trying to focus on how annoyed he was instead.

“How much work do you still have?” he asked.

“I… Uh… I guess I can be done soon?”

“Then stop babbling and get to work! You’re not leaving until you’re done!” he barked.

He then sat back in his chair, took out one of the files he was planning to take home, and started working on it, keeping an eye on the other to make sure he didn’t start daydreaming again. This was becoming a habit of his. Between that and his constant slacking off at Junes… Why was he so lazy and inefficient, all of a sudden?

_More so than usual, that was…_

Adachi looked up and met his eyes. Ryou sent him a warning frown, and the other went back to work immediately.

“Hurry up, I wanted to have dinner with my family tonight,” he grumbled.

“Maybe we could go to Aiya instead?” his partner asked with a hopeful look.

“I’m not rewarding your laziness, Adachi.”

“But you could be rewarding your patience!” the moron exclaimed with a smile.

Ryou sent him an annoyed look, and the smile soon disappeared.

“Fine, fine,” Adachi gave in with a pout.

The older detective let out a frustrated grunt. He really shouldn’t be alone with him like this.

.

Tohru was bored beyond measure. Nothing had happened ever since Kanji’s rescue, and even Dojima was now leaving him for “his family”.

_Bullshit. He didn’t care about his family before, and there was no way he’d change his mind so suddenly! What was it? Was Tohru not good enough anymore?_

He sighed. He had noticed it before, but now more than ever, he realized that spending time with his partner was really the only good thing he could do with his free time in this awful place. Plus, if he didn’t keep him close, the other might start suspecting him, so the situation wasn’t good for his plans either.

Tohru had tried several things to get Dojima’s attention back, but even his attempts to go for a drink with him failed. The most efficient solution these days was to finish his share of the work late, since his partner almost never left without him. That was why he spent his days slacking off; so that there would always be stuff to do in the evening. As long as he could be back home on time to watch the Midnight Channel on rainy days, everything was fine.

_But the damn screen had remained blank for weeks. What a letdown…_

Dojima groaned near him, and Tohru looked up from his desk to see him trying to massage his own shoulders. They’d had a long day, with that new robbery case, and they weren’t going to finish early either. For once, he had even decided to be efficient again.

“Are you okay, Sir? You seem tense,” he remarked as an idea starting forming in his mind.

His partner gave him a surprised look and simply said that it would get better once he could go home. However, it was likely not going to happen, given how stiff he’d been looking for the past few days. Plus, massages usually worked great to innocently get closer to people.

_It always worked on Mune, at least._

Tohru got up and walked behind Dojima, placing his hands on the man’s shoulders.

“Here, let me help,” he said casually.

Ryou stiffened as he felt Adachi’s hands start working on his shoulders. It was precisely for things like this that he’d been avoiding the other! However, he had to admit that he really needed it, and he let himself relax soon after.

“It would work better without the shirt,” his partner remarked after a while.

“I am not doing that,” he replied, trying to ignore the various thoughts of Adachi’s hands on his skin that popped up in his mind.

“I know, I was just joking,” the other said with a smile Ryou could hear.

_How great it would feel, though. Adachi’s hands on his bare skin. Adachi hands on his shoulders, holding him tight as he rammed him against his desk…_

Nope, he shouldn’t go there, he reminded himself. This wasn’t going to happen, and they still had work to do. He couldn’t let himself be distracted.

“I’ll be fine,” he finally said as he pushed the other away.

He turned around so see Adachi’s disappointed and almost hurt expression, and he softened as he thanked him for the massage. That seemed to make the other feel better, and they went back to work soon after.

Ryou wanted to say that he was a lot more efficient now that he was more relaxed, but it was quite the opposite, to be honest. Hence, once he was done with the most important tasks, he decided to call it a day and asked Adachi how much work he had left.

“I’m almost done, Sir,” he replied as he finished writing something. He then put his pen down and asked with a bitter smile: “I suppose you wanted to have dinner with your family?”

He looked so resentful when he said it that Ryou felt a pang of guilt for avoiding him.

“Is that a problem?” he asked softly (or at least, so he hoped).

“No, of course not!” Adachi exclaimed. “It’s just that you never hang out with me these days, so I feel a bit bored, you know… It’s almost like you’re avoiding me,” he continued with an embarrassed chuckle.

“What? No, I’m not avoiding you! It’s just…”

The older detective sighed, unable to find a proper explanation. He gave up and checked his watch instead. It was too late to eat at home. He could make an effort. Sure, he was avoiding Adachi for real, but he didn’t want the other to feel left behind.

“How about we have dinner at Aiya tonight? It’s a bit late and we still have some work to do here. I’ll call Nanako,” he offered.

His partner smiled brightly at the offer, and accepted eagerly. Ryou already felt like this was a mistake, but it was too late to go back on his word now.

_At least it made Adachi very efficient, all of a sudden._

.

Ryou had made sure not to drink too much during dinner. The last thing he wanted was to lose control again, right? However, as he watched Adachi wolfing down his beef bowl as if it was the best thing he’d had in days—and given his eating habits, it probably was—the detective kept thinking about the past few weeks. He had missed the other’s presence and general enthusiasm for simple things such as food. And apparently, his partner had missed him too.

So sure, having a relationship with him was unprofessional and generally a bad idea. After all, that would mean going out of his assigned role and putting the whole house of cards that was Inaba’s social structure in peril. However, he also knew for a fact that what mattered the most was appearances. It didn’t matter what he did behind closed doors, so maybe it would be okay for him to…

“Are you going to finish that, Sir?” Adachi asked suddenly, chopsticks still in hand and a grain of rice at the corner of his mouth.

Ryou then realized that he had left almost a third of his meal. He wasn’t really hungry anymore, and the other looked so hopeful that he gave up and told him he could have the rest. His partner’s smile was so bright that he couldn’t look at it directly, so he simply slid the bowl to the side, staring stubbornly at the counter.

He drove Adachi home afterward, declining his offer to have a drink. There was something he wanted to do, and he needed his mind to be clear. He tried to ignore the other’s disappointed look, and remained silent the whole way.

When they reached their destination, his partner thanked him briefly before reaching for the car door. That knocked Ryou out of his trance, and he grabbed his wrist quickly before mumbling what he hoped were coherent apologies for avoiding him for the past few weeks, unable to look at the other in the eyes. He tried to mention the kisses from last time, but Adachi interrupted him by asking:

“Dojima-san? What are you say–”

Ryou kissed him before he could think any better.

 _“That was unexpected…”_ they both thought.

As he kissed his partner back, Tohru wondered how much the other had bottled up his feelings. He seemed so desperate and so hungry somehow that it was all he could feel. Also, this time, he tasted like Chinese food more than coffee and cigarettes, which was a big plus.

“I’m sorry,” Dojima whispered once they broke the kiss.

“What for?” Tohru asked with a puzzled look, babbling on purpose to better fit the character he was playing. “I hope it’s not for kissing me, because–”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence, because Dojima’s lips were on his again, and the hand that had been holding his wrist was now lost in his hair, scraping his skull lightly as his partner hung on to him desperately, just like that night on the couch.

Tohru honestly hadn’t planned for this to happen. He just wanted Dojima’s attention back; the whole kissing part was optional. However, he had to admit that it felt great. It served his plans by making the other less suspicious, it helped him deal with how much he missed Mune, and it gave him a new, important place in the guy’s life.

_Perfect._

The car’s lamp turned off at some point, and in the dim light coming from the street, Tohru was once again struck by how much Mune and he looked alike, even from close up. He wanted nothing more than to straddle the other and let the guy fuck him right there and then.

_He’d never done it in a car, now that he thought about it. It was a good time to try!_

However, to his disappointment, this car clearly wasn’t made for that, and he had to give up on the idea.

“Wanna come to my place?” he whispered instead, hoping the other would get the message.

Ryou almost choked at the words. He remembered how to breathe, he really did, but his throat refused to cooperate somehow. Plus, his cheeks were burning and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d blushed like that without the help of alcohol.

_He couldn’t do that now. It was too soon! Plus, he’d never…_

“Dojima-san?” Adachi asked with a concerned and somewhat pleading look.

“I…” was all he managed to utter.

He what? He wondered. He didn’t want to go too fast? He knew next to nothing about gay sex because, even though he’d been attracted to men in the past, he had never gone that far? Well, there had been a few things with… Anyway! He was having second thoughts because Chisato’s ghost might haunt him? He really had to go home now?

In the end, he simply shook his head silently. Adachi seemed confused and a bit disappointed, but then he took a second to think and simply exclaimed:

“Oh, true, I don’t have any lube at home… Another time I guess!”

He had a goofy smile as he said that, and Ryou relaxed instantly. He didn’t want to know why the other seemed so confident, and he even refused to be surprised by the fact that he’d just casually talked about that with such an innocent face. Instead, he simply nodded and agreed to keep it for later, grateful that he didn’t have to come up with an excuse that might hurt his partner.

“Goodnight then, Dojima-san!”

Adachi left with those words before Ryou could stop him, and he ended up alone in his car, wondering what the hell had just happened. He took a moment to calm down and process the events before driving back home, his head full of questions and his stomach full of butterflies that he thought he had buried with Chisato years ago.


	7. Rise-n To Your Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm back on track now! Amazing how a comment at the right time can make everything better...
> 
> So today, folks, smutfest is starting! But it helps the plot so I guess it's fine?  
> Anyway, Rise disappears, Dojima is in love, and Adachi is sad and thinks about Iwai a lot.
> 
> Enjoy!

Dojima wasn’t completely stupid, Tohru could give him that. After all, he’d figured out that Rise might be the next victim on a hunch, when Tohru himself had only realized it a few days ago with way more clues at hand. Maybe this so-called “detective’s instinct” was something the guy could actually rely on, contrary to him.

_Hunches never led him anywhere, and certainly not toward a promotion… Damn did he hate people like that._

However, instinct wouldn’t lead the poor detective anywhere if he was unable to see the case with an open mind and admit that there might be supernatural things happening here. And knowing the man, it wouldn’t happen anytime soon, meaning that his instinct was completely useless in the end. Plus, given the way he seemed to see Tohru, it was unlikely that he would ever suspect his goofy partner of anything more than messing things up by accident.

_It would almost be funny if it weren’t so sad..._

_Who was he kidding? Of course it was hilarious! The brave detective was making out with the vile murderer after work! How funny was that?_ _He would laugh if he wasn’t so sure that he’d never be able to stop._

Things stopped being funny when Dojima told him they were headed to Marukyu Tofu, though. Tohru had avoided that shop from day one. Actually, he’d done his best not to even _think_ about it. And now here he was, standing in front of it because his stupid partner had a hunch.

_Dammit!_

He followed the other man in there after he was ordered to come in with the usual bark.

_It seemed that all the making out in the world would never make the guy softer toward Tohru._

As he came in, his eyes immediately fell on the tofu fritters; the only thing left after all the fans and curious locals had swarmed the place all day. He pursed his lips.

They were Kaoru’s favorite.

_The kid would love this shop so much. Everything about it. He would probably want to spend his life there and learn everything there was to know about tofu. Mune would maybe grumble a little at first, but it was a small town after all, so he could easily leave the kid there and go see Daidara. Those two would probably get along well. If Kaoru and Mune had been here with him, his life would have been so much better, regardless of how dull this shithole was. The boy would have loved Nanako, too. A little sister would be perfect for him. But all Tohru had now was Dojima who barked at him all the time and left him behind whenever he had the chance, so that he could “spend more time with his family”. And apparently, it didn’t include his partner despite his beautiful speech about how Tohru could see his house as a second home._

“Adachi, we’re leaving,” Dojima spat, forcing him back to reality.

Tohru jolted and followed the man outside. His partner muttered something about high school kids knowing more about the case than actual policemen, but Tohru didn’t pay attention. As he sat in the passenger seat, his mind was back in Tokyo already.

_He should have ditched Dojima and run to Junes when he had the chance._

.

Adachi was looking down ever since their visit to the tofu shop, and Ryou had no idea where this had come from. His partner was quiet and brooding, which was unheard of coming from him. Hence, since there wasn’t much they could do at the moment, he offered to let him go home early and rest.

“Not that you really need it, since you’re slacking off all the time,” he couldn’t help but scoff.

He knew he was joking, but as always, it came out a lot more harshly than intended.

To his surprise, Adachi didn’t flinch. He simply shook his head and said he would be fine. He then put on a smile and declared that seeing the real Risette had filled him with energy, but his sullen look came back soon after, as if the normal Adachi was just a mask that didn’t stick. Ryou frowned as he saw that, but he decided not to pursue the matter further. He went back to work and didn’t look up from his file until everything was done. Then, he stretched and told his partner that he was leaving.

“Do you want me to give you a ride?” he offered, hoping that the other would take the bait.

Adachi looked up and stared at him pensively. Then, he smiled like always and accepted happily. This time, it seemed that his good mood was here to stay.

Ryou could have guessed that he was wrong when the other remained silent for the whole trip. However, he still wanted to believe that Adachi was simply tired. Then, he stopped the car in front of his partner’s apartment building, and the guy’s lips were on his as soon as he turned his head to tell him they had arrived.

Never in his life had he been kissed so desperately. It almost seemed like Adachi would drop dead if he stopped touching him. His hand was firmly locked behind Ryou’s head, his body pressed against him as much as the car seats allowed, and he barely took time to breathe.

“Stay with me,” he whispered when he finally released his grip.

He had this pleading look, just like the one from that night, but so much sadder. Thoughts of dinner with Nanako and Yu popped into Ryou’s mind…

_He had some questions for his nephew, after all._

…but he quickly brushed them aside. They would be fine with each other. Tohru needed him more right now.

“Fine, I’ll stay,” he nodded.

His partner’s smile had the beauty of a ray of sunshine in a cloudy sky; bright, yet fragile. Ryou would have followed him anywhere when he smiled like this, he realized. He quickly called Nanako to tell her he’d come home late, and went out of the car to join him.

.

Tohru didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts that night. Why he had decided to spend it with the man who reminded him the most of the person he didn’t want to think about was beyond him, but as he opened the door, wondering if he should jump his partner like an animal or try to be civilized and have dinner first, he realized that Dojima was the best company possible. It felt like being physically with Mune, and despite how sick it sounded, there was nothing he wanted more at the moment.

“Wanna drink something?” he asked when the other man joined him in the flat.

He must have forgotten to smile when he said that, because the guy gave him a pained look and scratched his head, obviously trying to find the right words.

_As if there were any…_

Or maybe it was just because of earlier, Tohru didn’t know.

“Look, Adachi, uh…”

“Why don’t you call me ‘Tohru’?” he blurted.

He didn’t know where that came from. Maybe it was because he wanted the man to play Mune’s role a little more. Maybe he just found the distance stupid, given their current relationship. Maybe he really wanted someone to call him by his first name again…

The other seemed pretty surprised by the request, and he remained silent until Tohru explained:

“It’s just that… After all the kissing and all, you know…”

He’d said that with a shy smile, chuckling nervously. He hoped that the goofy persona would stick long enough to really fool the guy this time.

“Tohru,” Dojima finally said hesitantly, looking somewhere on his left.

_Wait a… Was he blushing?_

“Look, um… Tohru. About today…” he tried again after a deep breath.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry!” Tohru dismissed.

“It doesn’t look like it,” the man insisted. “I know that Inaba isn’t exactly what you expected, but…”

_Oh, on the contrary. He expected a shitty little town, and that was exactly what he got._

“But?” he still asked with a curious look, trying to repress the sardonic smile that his lips stubbornly wanted to form.

The guy sighed again before adding:

“But you’re not as alone as you think. If you could just give it a chance–”

Tohru refused to hear the rest and kissed him to make him shut up. That kind of speech was too much like Dojima and not enough like Mune. The kisses weren’t much better, since the taste was completely different, but at least they didn’t require any talk about how Inaba was a nice place after all.

_As if he’d ever believe that crap._

“Ada– Tohru?” the other man said with a confused look once they broke the kiss.

The cop blessed the fact that he’d only turned on the small kitchen lamp. The illusion always broke when the light was too bright, but here, with the room mostly left in the dark, it was perfect.

“Sorry. It’s just that you’re looking so good right now,” Tohru whispered.

The other chuckled.

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” he replied with a smile. “But wouldn’t it be better with a little more light?”

_Certainly not!_

“Too much effort,” the younger man shrugged as he leaned in for another kiss, hoping that it would be enough.

Given the pair of arms that wrapped around him soon after, the guy didn’t mind. He hesitated a little when Tohru started to undo his tie, but didn’t resist. They ended up on the couch in a very familiar position, and this time, there were no sounds upstairs to stop them.

They both lost the upper halves of their clothes, still kissing and grinding against each other. After much hesitation and half attempts, the other’s hands were now resting firmly on Tohru’s ass, although they wandered along his bare skin from time to time.

Dojima’s skin didn’t feel much like Mune, somehow. There was muscle, but the feeling was different, and he refused to open his eyes to see what it looked like. He already knew that there would be no tattoo, and he wanted to spare himself the disappointment. Instead, he let himself drown again in the idea that he was with Mune, trying to remain mindful enough that the name wouldn’t slip. Then, he decided that it was time to get rid of those nasty pants.

The man unbuckled Tohru’s belt soon after and unzipped his pants before plunging right under the fabric. He then pulled the younger’s hips against his own and they hissed at the friction, which felt even more intense without the extra barriers.

It hadn’t been so long for Tohru, but the last time someone touched him like this felt like eons ago. He nuzzled his head in the guy’s shoulder and wrinkled his nose at the foreign smell. It wasn’t Mune, he reminded himself, but forgot immediately when he felt a familiar stubble scratching his neck, sending long shivers of pleasure down his spine.

“Mune,” he almost whispered before remembering that he shouldn’t say that. He managed to turn it into “Mmnn” at the last second, blessing the retailer for having such a convenient nickname.

Deciding that it was time to get to the serious part before he forgot the situation he was in, he raised his head to face Dojima.

“Dojima-san, I–” he started.

“Call me Ryou,” the other interrupted.

_Fair enough._

“Ryou, um… Should we…?” Tohru said, realizing that asking directly might not fit his current persona.

He should have expected Dojima to hesitate. After all, he had been married to a woman before, and he seemed pretty reluctant the last time Tohru offered. However, he never thought the man would be so flustered by the idea.

“Is something wrong?” he asked with a concerned look, despite not feeling concerned in the least.*

“No, it’s just that, uh… I’m a bit new to all this,” Dojima explained.

_Ugh, that was just his luck…_

“I mean I have… Uh… Been with men before. But we’ve never…”

Tohru had to repress the urge to roll his eyes, and said instead:

“It’s okay. I can do it.”

His partner was now looking at him like a hopeful dog, and Tohru hopped off his lap to tell him that he was going to grab the stuff.

_Good thing he’d ordered lube beforehand._

“Shouldn’t we move to the bedroom?” Dojima asked.

Tohru took a second to think as he got rid of his pants, which were already down to his ankles anyway, and decided against it. There was no guarantee that the light would be good, and he didn’t know how he could convince his partner not to turn it on at all.

“I think the couch is a good place to start, don’t you?” he said with a grin.

That made the other smile weakly, and he nodded. Tohru quickly grabbed what he needed in his bedroom, getting rid of his underwear while he was at it, and came back in the living room stark naked, pleased to see that Dojima had the same idea. He then plopped back on the guy’s lap and said with a seductive look:

“Miss me?”

His partner chuckled, which was a thing Mune did, and kissed his cheek gently, which was a thing Mune almost never did.

“Maybe,” he said.

It took a second for Tohru to recover from his astonishment. He then focused on the bottle of lube, and wondered how he should bring up the topic if neither of them was going to be straightforward.

_Curse the seemingly innocent character he’d made up…_

He sighed, and suddenly remembered that he had been direct in the past, the first time he’d asked Dojima to come to his place. He decided that it wasn’t such a bad twist, especially since he was like this already. Plus, it could be fun!

“So, what do you want to do?” he asked, deciding at the last second that being too direct would make things a lot less fun.

“Uh… What do you mean?” Dojima replied with a flustered and slightly panicked look. “What do you usually do?”

_Oh, good one!_

“Bottom,” he replied with a serious expression. “But I can top if you prefer,” he added with a smirk.

“I’ll top! It’s fine!” the other exclaimed quickly.

_He was right. Being straightforward was really fun!_

The newly appointed top tried to avoid his responsibilities in the guise of “not wanting to hurt him” and Tohru snapped back that he’d never had to do it himself either.

_Seriously, why was that man such a wuss sometimes? Tohru was fine with taking matters in his own hands, but the other should take responsibility as well!_

Dojima let out a resigned sigh and took the bottle from his hands.

“Tell me if I hurt you, okay?”

“Sure,” Tohru nodded.

It didn’t turn out as poorly as he’d expected, and he closed his eyes, trying to forget once again who he was going to have sex with. He forced himself to come back to reality when he told the other that he could stop, he kept looking while the guy was putting on a condom, and he really made an effort to look him in the eyes when he lowered himself to let fucking Dojima inside him.

He wasn’t perfectly prepared, he realized when he felt an unusual pain, and he remembered with a sad smile how Mune always told him that he was too impatient. That was when he closed his eyes, apologizing to him in his mind. He could almost hear the retailer’s raspy chuckle in his ear as he petted his hair and started whispering how good it felt and how great Tohru was doing and–

_Wait, that wasn’t something Mune usually did…_

No, because he wasn’t with him right now, he reminded himself. He started moving to forget his disappointment, and the other’s hands moved along his sides, tickling and scratching him at the same time. They were so gentle… Tohru considered asking the man to be rougher for a second, but he had to admit that it felt nice. Instead, he moved faster up and down his length, letting himself drown in memories of Mune to the rhythm of their flesh slapping in an entrancing pattern. The guy’s hands were on his hips now, accompanying his movements. Then, one of them went up to pet his hair.

“Tohru, look at me,” he heard as the hand cupped his cheek.

The voice was so soft… But he couldn’t open his eyes now, because if he did, it wouldn’t be Mune in front of him and he couldn’t stand that.

“Can’t,” he whimpered, burying his face in the crook of the man’s neck instead, trying to ignore the smell that wasn’t Mune’s.

_Mune didn’t smell like cigarettes. Mune would never smell like pricey cologne. He hated it because it made him stand out._

He hadn’t realized that he’d slowed down his movements until he found himself lying on the couch. The other was now pounding inside him, and Tohru put a hand behind his neck and pulled his head down, putting his mouth closer to his ear so the man could hear his moans.

_Mune loved it when he did that…_

He felt lips on his neck, hands all over his body, and a part of him knew that it wasn’t Mune, but his mind was stuck on the name already, and he tried to cover his mouth by putting it against the other’s shoulder, remembering the way the retailer smelled…

_Mune_

…how he sounded when he was close to climax…

_Mune_

…how it tasted when Tohru bit his shoulder…

_Mune_

…the feeling of his skin under his fingers…

_Mune_ _Mune Mune Mune Mune Mune Mune_

Tohru came, biting his lip to make sure the name would be mistaken for a normal moan. The man followed soon after and kissed him on the temple before pulling out. Tohru still refused to open his eyes.

“Tohru, are you crying?” he heard.

The voice was anxious now.

_Was he crying?_

He opened his eyes slowly, meeting Dojima’s worried ones. He raised a tentative hand to his face, and realized that his cheeks were, indeed, wet.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” the other asked.

Tohru slowly shook his head as he came back to reality, letting the memories of Mune fade away.

“I’m fine. It’s just… About earlier… But never mind, I’m okay now,” he lied, forcing himself to put on a smile.

He then wiped his eyes under his partner’s concerned look and sat up.

“Whew, that was good! Wasn’t it?” he declared with a cheerful grin to change the subject.

His expression became more uncertain when the other didn’t reply, but Dojima came back to his senses soon after and nodded with a soft smile.

“I’m exhausted, should we go to bed?” Tohru asked.

They decided that there was time for an all-tofu dinner and a shower, and Dojima didn’t bring up the subject after that.

_Crisis averted._

Tohru half expected his partner to leave right after. It was what Mune would have done. However, the man followed him to bed and wrapped an arm around him, holding him tight like it was the most natural thing in the world.

That was … surprising. But not in a bad way, Tohru decided. Mune certainly wouldn’t have done that but for once, the cop didn’t care. He closed his eyes and pretended that it was him as he slowly drifted to sleep.

.

Ryou woke up slowly and pulled Chisato a bit closer to him, wondering where she’d been for all this time. He smelled her hair, which was surprisingly short, and only then did he notice that the person sleeping with him didn’t feel like Chisato at all, nor did they smell like her.

_His wife was still in her grave, and he was currently holding Ada– no, Tohru. He was currently holding Tohru in his arms._

Memories from the night before slowly came back to him, and he smiled as he held the young man closer. He was a bit surprised to find that he had no regret for his unprofessional behavior, and he even started wondering why he didn’t do that earlier.

_He had missed having someone to sleep with a lot more than he thought._

Once he felt reasonably awake, the detective decided that it was time to get up. Judging by the sound of Tohru’s breath, he was still fast asleep and perfectly unfazed by Ryou’s movements against him. Trying to get out of bed without waking him up would probably be a bit tricky, but he still decided to give it a try as he slowly untangled himself from the other. A quick glance at the digital clock on the nightstand showed that it was a bit later than his usual wake-up time, but nothing to worry about. He could let his poor partner sleep for a bit longer.

Two false alarms later, he was finally out of bed, and Tohru was still fast asleep. He looked fondly at his partner, who immediately rolled to Ryou’s previous place and didn’t move from there. There was only a bit of messy hair coming out of the blankets now, and the older man had to repress a chuckle at the sight. He stretched a bit and went to the living room, looking for his clothes. He retrieved Tohru’s while he was at it and put them on the couch before getting dressed.

_He’d also forgotten how much he loved not having to wear anything inside…_

He decided that a nice cup of coffee would be perfect, and he started searching the cupboards to find where the guy put his coffeemaker. To his surprise, he couldn’t find it anywhere. He hesitated asking Tohru where it was, but he then figured that it wasn’t worth waking him up. Still, he felt a bit bored, and his partner probably wouldn’t wake up for an hour or so… Plus, he needed a change of clothes. He had enough time to go back home, change, and drink his coffee before going to work.

Ryou considered the idea for a moment, wondering how inappropriate it would be to leave before Tohru woke up. Plus, his search for coffee had left him pretty worried. The cupboards were all empty except for an unreasonable amount of instant noodles, and the fridge was full of _nimono_ and cheap beer. There was nothing else in terms of food in the whole flat, save for a few tea bags. The detective had always known that his partner didn’t live healthily, but this was far worse than anything he had imagined.

_And he thought_ his _life was a train wreck…_

Still undecided whether or not he should leave now, he resolved to put Tohru’s clothes back in his room and see if he hadn’t woken up in the meantime.

“Dojima-san, s’that you?” the lump in the bed asked with a sleepy voice when he came in.

“Yeah. Sorry to wake you up,” he said as he walked closer.

“S’fine,” the other muttered.

“I need a coffee and a change of clothes, so I’ll go back home. Is that fine by you?” he asked softly.

“Sure. What time is it even?”

“About 6 AM. You can still sleep.”

“Great. See you at work,” Tohru said as he buried himself even more under the blankets.

Ryou chuckled at that and bowed down to kiss whatever part of his head was still visible. The other stayed surprisingly still after that, and the detective left to get ready for the day. Maybe he’d even get to see Nanako before going to work, he thought with a smile. He often complained about not knowing how to deal with his daughter, but he had to admit that spending some time with her before work had become an important part of his day, even if they didn’t talk.

.

Tohru seemed pretty unfocused that day, so Ryou sent him to the tofu shop to keep an eye on his nephew and his friends who would surely come back. The kids were apparently very close to the case, and he wanted to make sure they didn’t put themselves in trouble.

Needless to say that he regretted his decision when the guy came back with trouble for the whole station.

_He should have never sent him anywhere on his own…_

The stalker was sent home after a brief interrogation and a stern lecture about respecting people’s privacy, and Adachi had the scolding of his life for being such an idiot.

_Seriously, what did they teach him in the city?!_

His partner sulked all afternoon, looking so utterly miserable that Ryou ended up taking him out for dinner. It was the guy’s fault for making him skip dinner with his family, and he knew he shouldn’t be doing that, but he couldn’t resist it when Tohru glanced at him with these anxious and sorry eyes. It would be fine as long as he came back home afterward, he told himself.

…

Coming home was a lot harder when Tohru was kissing him like this, as if he wanted to apologize through it. They were still in Ryou’s car and they really shouldn’t be doing this, but if he could choose between his cold and lonely futon, and sleeping with the other man in his bed, he would pick the latter without hesitation.

But he couldn’t do that, he reminded himself. He was supposed to come home; he couldn’t spend the night out twice in a row. He let Tohru go reluctantly, and drove home under the pouring rain.

.

Tohru almost forgot to watch the Midnight Channel that night. A lot had happened during the day, after all. Between the stalker he brought back to the station so that the kids thought Risette was safe, and Dojima whose behavior he didn’t quite follow, he didn’t have much time to think about it. It would have been a shame, however, given the show that the idol on hiatus put on TV!

_To think that he’d almost missed it to spend time with Fake Mune… He would have regretted it his whole life!_

The cop groaned loudly when his recording attempt failed again, but all in all, he was still glad he’d seen it. More than just the opportunity of watching an idol act like the bitch she truly was, if the kids really thought they’d caught the killer, they might not realize that she was in there. And if the girl died in the TV and became the third victim, not only would it bring a lot more attention to the case, but it would also permanently brand Inaba as the town that killed Risette. Idols’ fame may be short lived, but it would still give a bad reputation to the place!

He couldn’t wait for it, he thought excitedly as he went to bed.

 

* * *

 

*Well, he was concerned about not having sex and the other running away and leaving him alone with his thoughts, but that wasn’t the sort of feeling he was trying to convey here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I once jokingly told my friends that I would write "sad smut where you're turned on but also crying" and I think this is kind of what I've done here? At least it was the general idea. I hope it worked!  
> (ugh smut has always stressed me out so much ><)


	8. What a Riot(aro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from the dead with a new chapter!
> 
> This time, Dojima is drunk and things happen. I wasn't joking when I said last chapter marked the beginning of smutfest~  
> Why so much sex, you ask? Well, it justifies the rating! Also, sex as a plot device is good, you can pry that from my cold dead hands.
> 
> Enjoy!

Tohru’s hopes were shattered not even two days after Rise disappeared. So long to his dream of seeing Inaba become the town that killed Risette…

His only consolation here was his relationship with Dojima, which was slowly becoming more and more entertaining. The man had apparently decided to invite him home for dinner more often, and that was the first thing he did when the ex-idol came back to her grandmother, confirming that she had been kidnapped but unable to give them more useful information on the matter. Acting all friendly toward everyone in the house still made Tohru sick, but it was tolerable, and the food was great.

_Not as good as Mune’s homemade cooking, but a lot better than his instant noodles at least._

Like always whenever Narukami was around, the cop couldn’t help but “inadvertently” let information about the case slip, just to see his reaction. Of course, that earned him a slap on the back of the head from Dojima, but it wasn’t as harsh as it used to be. He turned to the man with a pained look, and the guy only sighed as he told him to shut up.

Tohru didn’t know if it was just him, but he felt like it was different from before. His partner was now hitting him fondly, which was a very weird concept but there was no other way to describe it. It was almost as if he was playing a game of “how much can I touch you in public?” and even though the guy had never struck him as the playful type, there was no way Tohru would turn down such a challenge. Hence, he shifted his legs just a bit, wiggling his toes against Dojima’s foot to make sure he felt it, and started talking casually to Nanako, who was sitting at the other side of the table. And since he was in a pretty good mood that evening, he even showed her a magic trick.

_Well, maybe he did it because he said something that upset her, and her “Big Bro”, who decidedly had a sister complex, was glaring at him._

In any case, the trick was a huge success and the little girl kept asking for new ones, reminding him of a certain boy back in Tokyo. Narukami tried to beat him to it and regain Nanako’s attention and admiration, but since Tohru hated losing, he did one of the most impressive tricks he knew. It promptly forced his opponent to recognize his superior dexterity, and the brat went back to being a simple spectator while Tohru kept showing off his skills, glad to see that he still had it even though he hadn’t practiced in months.

_He’d never loved magic tricks more than at this moment…_

_…but he also wished Kaoru was here to see them._

.

Ryou had no idea where his relationship with Tohru was headed, but he had to admit that he didn’t dislike what it was turning into. His testing of boundaries had clearly gone too far, since the other was offering no resistance and often went a step further, and the detective knew that he had lost his footing at some point. However, the fall wasn’t too bad, he decided when he saw his partner walk to his desk, brushing against his shoulder when he went past him.

Later that day, Ryou had to go over reports with the guy and made sure to stay as close to him as possible without looking suspicious to their colleagues. Tohru seemed pretty flustered whenever their shoulders or legs touched, but he still made no attempt to move away from him. Actually, his partner got even closer at some point, and made their hands brush while he was writing something. He then sent him a shy look, but there was a hint of smugness in his smile. The guy was clearly trying to one up him, so Ryou hit the back of his head lightly and told him to get back to work.

They were soon interrupted by Ichikawa, who announced that the higher ups had sent a new detective to help them on the case. Ryou looked up from the desk, moving away from his partner, and his eyes fell on a kid no older than his nephew. The boy started talking about deductions as if he knew more about them than him, a seasoned detective who’d been on the field before the brat was even born, and his good mood disappeared in a second, like a drop of water falling on a hot pan. He tried his best to take the situation calmly, but he’d never felt so insulted in his life.

_What the hell were the higher ups thinking this time?!_

.

As expected, Dojima took the news of the Detective Brat getting involved in the case pretty poorly.

_Which Tohru could understand. He didn’t like it either, although for completely different reasons; the main being of course that he wouldn’t be able to take all the shine for solving the case by himself._

Dojima had been fuming all afternoon. He even left work early, dragging his partner to the nearest bar, where he proceeded to drink unhealthy amounts of _sake_ while complaining profusely about the situation.

Seeing him like this almost made Tohru worry. Actually, he had only drunk one beer that night, making sure to stay sober in case something went wrong. The idea of people finding the detective in charge of the murder case sleeping in the street after drinking too much was pretty entertaining, but his junior wasn’t sure that it would be good for his own image.

He quickly checked the time on his phone, earning a disapproving grumble from Dojima who kept telling him that it was what watches were for, and realized that it was almost time for dinner. When he said so to his partner, the guy simply ordered some food.

“What about Nanako? Shouldn’t you call and tell her you won’t be home for dinner?” Tohru asked.

He didn’t know why he cared, all of a sudden. It was just Nanako, and she had the annoying brat to look after her anyway. However, Dojima always called to tell her when he’d be late, so Tohru figured that she might be worried; and for some reason, he couldn’t help but imagine how Kaoru would feel in a similar situation.

“Whatever, she’ll be fine without me,” her father mumbled. “She’ll have her ‘Big Bro’ and her Junes song or whatever.”

Tohru sighed. He really, really shouldn’t do this, but…

“I’ll be back in a sec, I need some fresh air,” he said as he walked outside.

Dojima blinked a few times, surprised, but didn’t stop him. Tohru took out his phone once he was outside and called Nanako to tell her they’d be late, and that her dad was too busy at the moment to call her himself. She sounded disappointed, but not surprised.

_To think he’d end up using the Dojimas’ home line to be a more responsible adult than the girl’s own father…_

He tried to add something funny, because Kaoru’s sad face somehow kept popping up in his mind, and he must have succeeded because Nanako laughed a little. Once the call was over, he came back inside and ate whatever Dojima had ordered for the two of them.

“Okay Sir, time to go home,” he announced once they were done.

His partner was completely wasted, and people were starting to give him funny looks. Plus, alcohol seemed to make the man a lot more affectionate, and Tohru feared that letting him drink more would lead to an awkward situation for the both of them.

“Come on, just one more,” his senior whined.

“Nope, we’re paying and then we’ll go,” Tohru insisted.

Dojima grumbled, but he still complied. Once they were ready to leave, he got up on wobbly legs, and his partner had to carry him to the car.

“I’m driving tonight,” he announced as he put the guy in the passenger seat.

Apparently, Dojima was too drunk to complain. Given his lack of resistance, Tohru thought the trip would be easy, but that was without taking into account his intoxicated passenger and his wandering hands.

He didn’t say anything when the guy started petting his hair, laughing at how it kept pointing in all directions even when he tried to flatten it. He barely complained when a hand landed on his thigh and started stroking it insistently, even though it was pretty distracting.

“Sir, could you please stop? I’m trying to drive,” he snapped after a while.

“Come oooon Tohru, I’ve told you already to call me Ryou,” the other pouted.

“Fine, Ryou,” he sighed, still finding the name foreign. “But you still need to stop.”

Dojima complied, still pouting, only to start again not even a minute later, this time going a bit higher than the thigh. Tohru took a deep breath, trying to keep his focus, and turned onto a side street. He parked in the nearest space, stopped the engine, and turned to the man, who hadn’t stopped stroking his growing erection the whole time.

“Ryou, I can’t drive like this. Do you want to go home or not?” he asked, trying to keep a stern look on his face.

“Why are you so serious, Tohru? I just want to have a little fun!”

_Was this really Dojima speaking here? The man who blushed at the mere idea of sex in an apartment?*_

“You’re drunk,” Tohru stated.

“I knoooow!” the man exclaimed, giggling like a little kid.

He calmed down a few seconds later and adopted a more serious expression.

“Come here,” he commanded, patting his lap.

“I don’t think there will be enough room, Sir– I mean Ryou,” Tohru retorted.

Dojima frowned and bent down, probably looking for something under the seat. He then managed to pull it back and straightened up, patting his lap again with a determined look that made the driver roll his eyes with a smile.

“You’re impossible,” he sighed as he moved to sit on the other man, keeping his legs on the driver’s side.

The car’s light turned off, and his partner started looking strikingly like Mune again. Tohru didn’t have time to focus on that though, because the man’s lips were on his as soon as he was comfortably seated, and he had to wrap an arm around the other’s neck to be more stable. He could feel the guy’s erection against his thigh, and after simply hugging him for a while, he started fumbling with Tohru’s belt to free his swollen member. His drunk partner took it in his hand and started stroking it, making him sigh and pant with pleasure.

_He knew doing something like this in a car would be good._

They didn’t break the kiss, which was a complete mess, given how intoxicated the other was, and Tohru ended up burying his face in the crook of his neck, letting the man’s stubble scratch his ear lightly.

“You know what? Go back to the driver’s seat,” the guy said after a moment.

As he heard that, Tohru sprang back up to send him a confused look, and the other just told him there was something he wanted to do. Intrigued, he went back to his seat, wondering what he should do about his undone pants. The guy put the seat back in place, bowed down to the driver’s side, and Tohru suddenly understood what he meant when he started licking his dick in a way that could only be described as enthusiastic.

Tohru was way too surprised to react, at first. Then, Dojima took it in his mouth, and the only thing he managed to say was:

“Ryou…?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?”

“You don’t like it?” Dojima asked.

Was he kidding? The detective in charge of the murder case was happily sucking the dick of the culprit, and despite how sloppy he was thanks to alcohol, it felt amazing. Of course Tohru liked it! He loved it, even!

“It’s just… From what you said last time, I thought…” he started, mindlessly pressing on his partner’s head to encourage him to keep going.

_He’d acted like a total virgin the first time they had sex, so for him to be so forward all of a sudden… Drunk or not, it was highly unexpected._

Dojima chuckled.

“Actual sex is the only thing I’d never done with guys before, you know,” he said with a smug grin as he looked his partner in the eyes.

Tohru didn’t know how to reply to this, but it didn’t seem to faze the other, who simply went back to work. His junior relaxed in the seat, massaging the man’s skull whenever he did something good. Since the hair color was the same and the smell of _sake_ covered everything**, it was very easy for Tohru to imagine that it was Mune doing it. He didn’t even have to close his eyes. However, it soon hit him that Dojima would probably never do something like this again, and that he’d better enjoy this moment to the fullest. He turned on the car light and forced the man to tilt his head slightly to the side, so that he could see his face better. Dojima seemed to like the attention, and Tohru did his best to keep looking at him, even when the pleasure was so intense that he found himself closing his eyes uncontrollably.

_‘I should have called Nanako now,’_ he thought. _“Oh, sorry, your dad can’t talk to you right now Nanako-chan, he has his mouth full_ ,” he could have said. Or maybe the annoying brat would have answered the phone, for once. _“Sorry Narukami, your uncle will be late,”_ he’d have said, making sure that the kid could hear the slurping sounds Dojima made. _“You see, he’s too busy sucking my dick,”_ he might even have added, and he could imagine the brat’s face when he’d hear that, the shock, the horror, the utter disbelief in his eyes, and the mental image made Dojima’s mouth on his cock feel even better.***

“I’m gonna…” he said, and his partner only hummed to signal that he understood.

He came soon after, and his senior gulped down every drop of his cum as if it was premium coffee. Dojima then straightened up and wiped his mouth, looking very pleased with himself.

Tohru took a moment to recover, and then tried his best put his clothes back in order.

_It wasn’t like he had to make much of an effort, given how he usually looked._

Meanwhile, Dojima had simply sat back in his seat, and his partner had to take the man’s face and examine it from every angle to make sure there was no trace of sperm or saliva anywhere. It would be fine to go home with a drunk man, but a drunk man who had obviously just sucked dick… Not so much. His partner was giggling like an idiot all along, and once Tohru’s inspection was over, he decided that what he really needed right now was a hug. Tohru tried to resist at first, arguing that they should leave, but he soon gave up and hugged him back. Dojima held him tighter and let out a sigh of content.

“Love you…” the man muttered against his neck.

Tohru stiffened.

_Oh… Oops?_

.

Everyone was so focused on Kujikawa being the next victim that no one expected another murder. Even Ryou hadn’t considered the possibility! And now here they were, with a third dead body to deal with.

_Dammit!_

The detective’s only consolation was that even Shirogane didn’t seem to have expected that.

“But… That’s impossible! Morooka doesn’t fit the pattern!” he’d exclaimed upon learning about the poor guy’s death.

“That doesn’t make him less dead though, does it?” someone at the station had replied harshly, as if it was the kid’s fault.

Ryou didn’t like the self-proclaimed detective prodigy meddling in the case either, but he’d still told the man to shut up. Not liking the kid was no reason to take out his frustration on him.

Truth be told, no one really liked Morooka around here. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he came off as pretty aggressive, he had no close friends or known family, and he mostly kept to himself. At least, Ryou wouldn’t have to relive the nightmare that had been telling the Konishis about their daughter’s death, he thought with a pang of guilt.

However, Shirogane was right about something: the victim didn’t fit the pattern they had found at all! He didn’t appear on TV, people had seen him at the bar the night before, proving that he didn’t disappear… Could they have been wrong about it from the start?

He sighed, unable to find an answer. He looked up from his files, and his eyes immediately searched for Tohru. His partner looked unusually serious, and almost angry for some reason. Then, the guy noticed him, and he flashed his usual, uncertain smile, as if there was nothing on his mind and his previous expression was just a dream.

Of course, the detective was wrong about that: there was a lot on Tohru’s mind. Morooka’s death meant that there was a copycat killer somewhere, and he hadn’t seen it coming at all! Whoever it was, they probably left tons of evidence at the crime scene and they would likely get caught soon. The police would be all too happy to pin all the murders on that person, and maybe even the kidnappings while they were at it. And if they found the culprit before Tohru did, his perfect plan to go back home would go to waste.

_Stupid shithole of a town, always ruining everything… His life would be so much simpler if the world just disappeared._

.

As expected, the workload doubled at the station after the event. Since there were so many leads this time—an obvious cause of death and some DNA, mostly, which was a lot compared to the last two murders—everyone worked impossible hours, as if to make up for their previous uselessness. They wanted to find a culprit so bad that no one besides the Detective Brat and Dojima seemed to care about the obvious differences between this murder and the others. They were all too happy to dismiss them as the killer finally making mistakes.

_And then they looked down on Tohru for acting like a rookie most of the time. Even without the information he had, he wouldn’t have made such a stupid mistake. Plus, his behavior was an act, contrary to this bunch of idiots running around in circles._

Maybe he could turn the situation to his advantage, he thought. If he managed to find the copycat first, then maybe he could go back to Tokyo early. After all, if he didn’t come back soon, Mune might forget him, or even replace him! Tohru couldn’t afford to lose him after everything he’d done to come back! So sure, transfers were usually decided in spring, but…

_If he left Inaba soon, he wouldn’t have to deal with Dojima and his drunk declaration…_

Tohru sighed as he remembered the man’s words from about a week before. _“Love you,”_ he’d said. Muttered, to be more precise. His partner had decided to dismiss it as a drunk man’s rambling, but still. Even Mune had never told him that!

The cop had to repress the urge to take his head in his hands with a groan. Dojima had never brought up the subject again, even in more intimate situations, he reminded himself (they didn’t talk much, which allowed him to think more about Mune). Actually, his partner seemed to barely remember most of that evening. Tohru shouldn’t worry about this. His life was hard enough as it was anyway.

_Still, it would cost nothing to check, right? But how?_

He sighed. He should probably wait for an opportunity…

.

“Adachi, there’s a kid rambling at the welcome desk! Come deal with him and see what he wants,” someone at the station barked at him one evening.

_Apparently, the whole station was planning to treat him the same way Dojima did, although they only acted like this when his partner wasn’t around to hear them. And contrary to him, they never sucked his dick to make up for it…_

“Alright, I’m coming,” he said with a mental sigh so loud that it could have blown up a house.

That moron wasn’t worth arguing with, he had to remind himself.

The boy he was supposed to babysit was waiting near the desk, talking to everyone he could. He looked weird, to say the least, and the fact that he kept rambling even when no one listened didn’t help.

_What a creep…_

“I did it!” he exclaimed as soon as he saw Tohru walking toward him. “It was me!”

Okay, so either the guy was talking about something completely different, or Tohru was currently in front of the copycat killer and his colleague was, indeed, a complete moron. Not that he doubted it, but it was nice to have a confirmation. Maybe luck was on his side, for once.

“What? I don’t get you, kid. How about you follow me to the interrogation room and I’ll hear what you have to say,” he said, adopting the confused and lost expression of someone who was still trying his best to look cool and confident.

_That one was really hard to pull, and it was a shame that no one ever recognized his amazing acting skills._

The brat followed him without resistance, obviously very happy to have found someone to listen to him, and it only took Tohru a few minutes to confirm his suspicions. The only question now was: what should he do about him?

It was pretty late already, and he wouldn’t be surprised if his colleagues had given him the boy to handle only so that they could go home.

_And then they called_ him _lazy… At least his slacking off never made him dismiss a potential murderer!_

Anyway, Dojima wasn’t here; the Detective Brat wasn’t around either… He could basically do whatever he wanted with the copycat. And since the kid was so eager to tell everyone he murdered all three victims even though he obviously only took care of Morooka…

Tohru sighed. Handing him in would bring him nothing in terms of recognition from the higher ups. There was no glory in being the one who took the confession of a murderer that willingly told him everything. Plus, the kid wouldn’t shut up about it, even though he didn’t know the details of the first two homicides and apparently had no idea that there had also been kidnappings.

Well, inside the TV he’d go, Tohru decided. If the weirdo wasn’t going to serve his plan now, he might as well be used to mislead the other brats, right? Unless he just died in there, who knew? It could be interesting as well!

_“The revenge of the Inaba serial killer!” “Hurt in his pride, the real killer murders his copycat to show him how it’s done!”_ The media would love it!

Now that he was alone in the interrogation room, Tohru started laughing. He hadn’t had this much fun since Kanji appeared on the Midnight Channel!

 

* * *

 

*He’d gotten over it pretty fast, actually, but still!

**Thinking about it, Dojima had drunk so much that Tohru’s dick was probably flammable by now…

***Of course, Tohru was wrong about it. Yu would probably congratulate him and secretly leave condoms in his uncle’s car to make sure they stay safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the many footnotes but I had way too much fun with them to leave them out!


	9. Mitsu-oh, no…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so late, I'm sorryyyyyy! ;_;  
> Like I said on tumblr, work has been a nightmare and I've been too tired to post. 
> 
> Anyway, in this chapter, Ryou is depressed and finds a lost dog, as well as the true meaning of family.
> 
> Enjoy!

This case was a nightmare, Ryou thought as he drove Tohru home. They didn’t have a single lead, and now that they’d found the culprit, he had disappeared. The perp was just a kid, barely older than Yu, and the only reason why the police had found out it was him was because his parents had reported his disappearance. Things started making sense after they began to go through his stuff and to interrogate people, but that didn’t bring them closer to knowing where that Kubo brat was.

They had actively been looking for him for the past few days and, much like the previous missing cases, they were getting nowhere. It was late already, Ryou hadn’t been able to see his family in a while and even if he could, he didn’t feel like it because he didn’t want them to see him like this.

He pulled into the lot of his partner’s apartment complex and stopped the car in front of it. Then, instead of bidding him goodnight or telling him to be at work on time in the morning like he usually did, he sank on the wheel with a groan. He knew Tohru was still there, but ever since the event at the Konishis, he felt okay with the other man witnessing his moments of weakness.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“This is a nightmare,” Ryou grumbled. “We’re getting nowhere. Every time we think we have a lead, there’s another hurdle. And now we can’t even find that kid.”

Tohru put a hand on his shoulder and asked:

“Do you want to come upstairs?”

Ryou would be lying if he said he hadn’t hoped for the offer. He looked up from his arms and nodded. Nanako already knew that he wouldn’t be back until late anyway. His partner smiled, and opened the car door.

“Come with me then,” he said as he got out.

Tohru was glad that Dojima accepted his offer. They hadn’t had sex in a while, and he was starting to be bored. There was nothing he could do until the kids rescued the copycat or let him die in the TV, and he missed Mune a lot these days.

_Probably because he had thought for a while that he might solve the case early, and his hopes had gone down the drain again; unless it was because he was starting to feel like he was running out of time._

Anyway, he had found good lighting, so there was no downside in spending the night with Dojima.

He expected a lot of things from his partner, when they both walked into his flat. However, he wasn’t prepared for the guy to hug him tightly as soon as the door was closed. That was new…

_Except for that one time when he was completely wasted, of course._

“Sir…?” he called hesitantly.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me ‘Ryou’?” the man grumbled.

Tohru would never get used to it… Plus, it was a bit funny to annoy Dojima by calling him ‘Sir’ in intimate moments. Still, that didn’t reply to his implicit question.

“Ryou…?” he tried again.

Dojima took a deep breath, still not letting him go, and Tohru figured that it would be awkward not to hug him back at this point, so he went along.

They stayed like this for an uncomfortably long moment, and he had time to relax in the man’s arms and then grow restless again until Dojima started speaking.

“Thank you, Tohru,” he said, and his junior knew that this was going to be bad. “After everything that happened, I’m glad that you’re here with me.”

_Well, it wasn’t like he had any choice in the matter. If he could, he’d be in Tokyo already, hugging Mune so tight that the retailer wouldn’t be able to push him away; and he’d never let him go._

“I know I don’t always treat you nicely, but I want you to know that I’m grateful for everything,” the other continued.

_Shit shit shit this was bad. Did it mean that Dojima was serious now? Tohru didn’t need that! He really, really didn’t need that! He had to stop him somehow! And fast!_

“Tohru, I’m—”

Tohru kissed the man to stop him. At least he’d said “I _am_ ” so it meant that he wasn’t going to say something his junior really didn’t want to hear. And _“I’m in love with you”_ wasn’t an option. Who would say that?

Dojima seemed surprised by this move at first, but he went along with it. He was pretty tender this time, and he was still hanging on to Tohru as if he needed the support.

_That made him sick. But the kiss was nice at least._

It then hit Tohru that it was his chance to check his theory that the guy’s declaration of love was just something he said because he was drunk. And given the plan he had in mind, he could also turn the situation into something more familiar.

He pushed Dojima on the couch, not meeting much resistance thanks to the element of surprise, and crawled on his lap.

“Tohru…?” the other asked with a puzzled expression.

“Shhh, you’re tense, I understand,” Tohru whispered in his ear as he unbuckled the man’s belt quickly. “Let me help you relax, okay?”

He nipped his ear playfully as he started stroking the man’s growing erection, and he moved back to kneel between his legs.

“Call it payback for last time,” he said with a smile as he pulled down the guy’s underwear to let his member spring free.

“Last time…?” Ryou asked, surprised.

He had no idea what Tohru was talking about, and it was very hard to focus when he could feel his partner’s breath on his dick already. But if this was payback, it meant that he had done this to the other before…

He closed his eyes, feeling his heart pounding in his chest in anticipation. Tohru licked the length before taking the tip in his mouth, and his senior had to put a hand on his mouth to muffle a groan of pleasure.

_‘Focus Ryou, focus.’_

“You don’t remember?” Tohru asked with an amused smile.

The detective shook his head slowly, and the guy chuckled before telling him that it was fine. He then went back to work, letting his tongue swirl on the tip of his cock before engulfing it, and Ryou’s fingers got lost in the man’s hair, petting it gently.

He should stop him, he thought. He hadn’t come here for sex, after all. But at the same time, he was tense and there was nothing that relaxed him like a blowjob. And Tohru seemed so eager to please, especially when he closed his eyes to focus, letting out happy noises whenever his partner showed signs of pleasure or told him words of encouragement.

But last time… Last time… It must have been when he was drunk, he realized suddenly as memories started coming back in flashes. They were in the car and he—

He leaned back on the couch with a groan when Tohru did something especially good, and gripped his partner’s hair, all thoughts about that night forgotten. He could feel himself getting close to climax, and he had to refrain bucking against the man, who seemed much focused on his task.

“I wish you could be this conscientious at work,” he let out with a breathless chuckle.

His partner looked up and batted his eyelids innocently before doing something with his tongue that sent him over the edge. He warned Tohru, who finished with his hand yet still seemed caught off guard by his cum, letting some of it land on his face while the rest ended up on the carpet.

“Oops?” was his only reaction.

Ryou sighed.

“I’ll help you clean up,” he said.

“No no, don’t bother, I’ll do it!” Tohru replied.

When he got up to grab something to wipe his face and clean the floor, Ryou noticed that the guy still had a hard on, and felt a small pang of guilt for not having thought about it. He put his own member back in his pants and once Tohru was cleaner and the carpet was safe, he said:

“Now sit down. Let me take care of you.”

“It’s okay, Sir. That was payback just now so…”

Ryou sighed.

“Please don’t call me ‘Sir’ in moments like these.”

“Sorry…” Tohru apologized with a guilty look.

“It’s okay. But I can’t leave you like this,” the detective insisted.

His partner took a second to think.

“Why don’t we take this to my room?” he offered.

Ryou wasn’t here for sex, he reminded himself. He just wanted some support. Plus, he didn’t want Tohru to think that their relationship was limited to that, especially now that he remembered what had happened in the car last time. What he’d said. Maybe it was just drunk rambling back then but…

_So he had fallen that hard for his partner, huh… Talk about a complicated situation. As if the murder case wasn’t enough already._

He’d been ready to refuse the offer, but the other man insisted and he gave up. He stayed the night, holding Tohru in his arms, feeling relaxed for the first time in an eternity.

.

Of course, Ryou didn’t stay relaxed for long after this. Reality came back quickly (too quickly for his liking, to be honest) and after one more week of research, he still wasn’t closer to finding Kubo. Everyone at the station was working harder than ever, he hadn’t been able to have dinner with his family in days, Shirogane and Tohru had argued several times, and life in general was pretty stressful for him. Even Yu was acting weird these days!

The detective had found him in the living room when he got up one morning, sitting straight on the couch with a cup of coffee in hands, staring blankly at the black TV screen. He looked like he hadn’t slept much, and he had no reaction when Ryou came closer.

“Yu? Are you okay?” he’d asked.

His nephew had jolted when he heard him, but like most of his facial expressions, it only lasted for a second.

“Oh, it’s you, Uncle?” he said with a perfectly neutral tone, as usual. “Sorry, is it that late already? I didn’t notice.”

Ryou poured himself a cup of the coffee Yu had made, and frowned when he noticed that it was cold.

_How long had the kid been up?_

He emptied the coffee pot and started from scratch, using this time to find his words.

“Look I know I haven’t been here much these days, but if there’s something on your mind, you can talk to me,” he eventually said, still busy with his coffee.

Yu remained silent for a moment, and asked:

“It’s because you’re looking for Kubo, right? That you’re working so much.”

_Well, sometimes it was because of Chisato’s case, even now, but the kid didn’t have to know about that. Actually, he wasn’t even supposed to know about Kubo!_

“How do you know about that?” he asked with a suspicious frown, turning away from the pot to face his nephew.

The boy shrugged.

“It’s been all over the news these days, you know. Everyone has been talking about it,” he explained.

Ryou relaxed as he heard that. It made sense.

“Why are you asking?” he still inquired instead of answering Yu’s question.

_They had enough of a blabbermouth at the station with Tohru, after all._

“Would you come home early, if you found him? Nanako misses you,” his nephew declared.

His eyes were on Ryou as he said that, but they seemed to look much further away. The detective could have taken these words as an accusation, and he was ready to retort that he saw her in the morning anyway, but he realized that the tone didn’t sound accusatory. He sighed and scratched his neck.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “There are still a lot of cases that require my attention. But I’d probably be here for dinner more often.”

“You’re talking about Aunt Chisato’s case, right?”

The kid’s eyes were on him for real this time. There was still no accusation, but he looked a lot more inquisitive than earlier.

“Not only. But it’s one of the cases I need to solve,” Ryou replied, going back to his coffee making.

Once it was ready, he poured the drink in his cup, hoping that the conversation would stop there. It wasn’t the first time he’d had this talk with his nephew, and he wasn’t ready to argue with him so early in the morning.

_What did Yu know about this anyway?_

To his surprise, instead of reminding the detective once again that he was just running away from his responsibilities and that Nanako needed him more than an old case—and Ryou would be damned if these words didn’t sound truer every time the kid said them—Yu just looked in the distance again and said:

“I see. So it doesn’t have to be over now.”

The last sentence didn’t seem to be directed at him, so Ryou had chosen to ignore it. His nephew was weird like that sometimes.

The detective sighed, wondering why he was still thinking about this event. He tried to focus on his file again, but it was no use. He’d been on it for what felt like hours, and it still didn’t make any sense to him. Actually, he’d been failing to make sense of anything for a while now. He needed some fresh air.

Tohru came back from who-knew-where (probably slacking off again) as his senior was grabbing his stuff, so instead of yelling at him for disappearing, he announced:

“Adachi, we’re going on patrol.”

His junior seemed all too happy to have an excuse to go back out, and he followed him without complaining.

Tohru regretted coming with his partner as soon as it became clear that they weren’t going to patrol by car. What was Dojima thinking? It was way too hot to be outside! Junes was fine because of the air conditioning, and so was the car, but walking? That was crazy!

“Where are we going?” he asked, hoping that it wouldn’t be long.

“I don’t know. I just need some fresh air,” the other replied.

“I don’t think the air is exactly ‘fresh’, Sir…”

“Shut up, Adachi.”

Tohru sighed. Had they not been in public, the man would have probably chuckled and kissed him, or hugged him just to make him complain about how it was too hot for this. It was funny, how different Dojima was acting depending on who was around. He was a lot softer with Nanako too, whether he was in public or not. Narukami was another story, of course. Anyway, this difference between his public and private self wasn’t exactly surprising. It was typically Japanese, and the guy was like a walking stereotype sometimes.

_He probably didn’t treat his wife like this, though. Talking to her this way would have been frowned upon, but of course treating Tohru like this was fine because he was ‘just Adachi’ after all…_

He kept walking mindlessly, following his partner, until the man stopped him all of a sudden.

“Isn’t that the lost dog from last week?” he asked, looking at the animal standing a few feet away from them.

It was light brown, probably an Akita, but it wasn’t like Tohru ever looked at lost dog reports after all. However, this one had a collar, there was no owner in sight, and it looked scared and exhausted, so it was likely lost.

Dojima crouched and called it softly, holding out his hand.

“Pan-chan,” he said, and Tohru suddenly remembered the flyer at the station. He barely escaped having to take the deposition, actually.

_Who called their pet “bread” anyway? Besides Dragon Ball fans, of course. But the owners didn’t seem like the kind of people who read manga._

Dojima kept cooing at the dog for a while, which was weirdly cute and completely unexpected, given the harsh way he was treating his own partner in public. If he didn’t want to be known as a big softie, making cute noises to call a lost dog was a terrible idea. It seemed to work though, because after only a few minutes, Pan-chan was licking Dojima’s fingers already, letting him pet it as if they’d known each other for years.

He checked the collar and told Tohru to call the number on her medal so that they could tell the owners where their lost pet was. His junior sighed, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he took his sweet time doing it, mixing up a few locations just to annoy the woman on the phone.

_The bitch had been looking down on him when she came in, he remembered, so he decided to give her what she expected and acted like an idiot._

She eventually said that they would be here in a few minutes, while Dojima kept having fun with the dog, not paying him any attention. Tohru reported the conversation to his partner, who was now in full play mode with his new friend. The whole scene was strangely cute, and it made Tohru’s heart flutter. Pan-chan flopped on its back, asking for belly rubs, and Ryou laughed.

“You’re such a cute girl, aren’t you Pan-chan?” he cooed.

_Adorable… Ryou was obviously the cuter of the two…_

Tohru shook his head to get rid of the thought.

Mune loved dogs too, he remembered suddenly. Maybe that was why seeing Dojima with one affected him so much? After all, it was yet another thing the two men had in common.

_Mune once told him that he’d always wanted a big dog, but he never got one because his flat was small and he didn’t want it to be alone all day._

“I’ve always wanted a dog, you know,” Dojima admitted as he looked at his partner, still scratching the dog behind the ears.

“Why don’t you get one? You have a big house and even a small yard. And Nanako is home often,” Tohru remarked.

“Chisato was against it. She said it was too much work, there would be dog hair everywhere, and I wouldn’t be the one cleaning after it,” he explained. “After her death, I considered getting one. I thought it could guard the house and keep Nanako company. I even had my eyes set on a puppy, but then…”

He paused for a second and stopped petting his new friend who soon got up, asking for more attention. Of course, Ryou was all too happy to provide it. He still looked pretty sad when he continued:

“Then, I had to take care of a case where a young child was attacked by the family dog when the parents weren’t around. It was ugly. The dog had to be put down. No one understood where it came from, since it was such a sweet pet according to everyone.”

He paused again and sighed.

“Anyway, that made me change my mind,” he concluded.

“I see,” Tohru said. “But Nanako is older now, so there isn’t much danger anymore. And you seem good with dogs. Lost pets aren’t usually that trusting toward strangers.”

Ryou smiled softly, still petting Pan-chan.

“I guess you’re right,” he admitted.

_Dammit, why did being next to a dog have to make that man look so much more attractive?!_

“Pan-chan!” someone called in the distance, saving Tohru from his train of unwanted thought.

The bitch got up immediately and ran toward her owners without sparing a look to Ryou. He looked a bit disappointed but all in all, he seemed very happy for them. As the two of them walked back to the station, after the owners thanked them over and over again, Tohru even heard him mutter with a soft smile:

“Maybe I can do something right, after all…”

.

Kubo was found at Junes a few days later. Of course, it had to be Yu and his friends who reported him… The culprit was taken to custody right after, and it took a couple of days before he was fit for interrogation. His parents didn’t show up once to visit him during that time. They didn’t strike Ryou as the caring kind, but even though their son was a murderer, that still seemed harsh to him…

Obviously, his workload didn’t decrease, now that the culprit was caught. Plus, the atmosphere at the station was worse than ever. Shirogane kept insisting that Kubo was just a copycat, to which he was inclined to agree, but the higher ups didn’t want to hear any of it. Kubo was very precise about his own murder, but he didn’t seem to know the details of the other ones, such as the fact that the first two victims didn’t die from a blow to the head. That was very suspicious, but there was nothing Ryou could do when the chief kept pushing other cases on him and dismissed Shirogane as irrelevant. The detective was starting to feel bad for the kid…

Shirogane seemed obsessed with the case. He argued constantly with everyone at the station, he avoided Ryou because of their rough start and the fact that he often sided with Tohru (although he tried to remain impartial), and he’d even decided to stay in Inaba until the case was solved.

In a way, this behavior reminded Ryou of himself whenever he was on a case. Shirogane might be just a child for now, but he still had what it took to be a good detective. Sometimes, Ryou wanted to tell him that, but he knew that the kid wouldn’t take it well. In the end, he did the only thing he could think of to help, and told his nephew to look out for him at school, since the boy didn’t seem to have many friends or even to know how to interact with people his own age. It was probably a bad idea, and it would surely lead Yu and his friends to be even more involved in the case, but what could he do anyway? It wasn’t like his previous warnings had any effect.

Shirogane aside, even when Ryou had some free time to come home early, he still had plenty of work with Chisato’s case. New leads had emerged recently, or so he thought, and he often came back home only for a couple of hours before leaving again. Yu seemed to know what it was about, and he always sent his uncle a reproachful glance whenever he got a call and left right after. They had started arguing over that again, and it might be because he truly saw Yu as close family now, but his nephew’s words were more painful every time he said them, as if every blow was stronger and more accurate than the one before. Or maybe the guilt had always been there, and the kid was simply tearing down the walls Ryou had built around it…

In any case, the finishing blow didn’t come from him. To everyone’s surprise, it came from Nanako, who after years of putting on a smile and telling him that it was fine if he had to put his work before her, finally revealed her true feelings.

 _“You’re not real!”_ she’d screamed the night before, and then ran away as fast as her little legs could carry her.

He’d remained silent for a moment, unable to say anything, or even to move to stop her. Even Yu didn’t do anything; he simply stared at him with a look that said: _“I warned you, and now look what you’ve done”_.

“What was that even supposed to mean?” he muttered during his lunch break with Tohru.

“What was what supposed to mean, Sir?” his junior asked.

Ryou sighed. He hadn’t meant to say this out loud. However, since it was just his partner and him, he decided to explain:

“Nanako got upset yesterday. She said I cared about criminals more than her and started screaming that I wasn’t her real father. I have no idea how she came up with that.”

Tohru thought about it for a moment. If it was about Nanako feeling neglected, he thought he could understand what she meant.

“I get it,” he said. “She thinks you don’t care about her, which means you don’t see her as your real family.”

“But she’s my daughter!” Dojima exclaimed, showing once again how dense he could be sometimes.

“I know, but it doesn’t matter. Family is something you choose,” he explained.

He’d never understood how true these words were until he said them out loud. Tohru only realized what a family was after he met Mune and Kaoru. Even now that he was away from them, they were still his real family, even more so than his own parents. And since it was nice to say it out loud for once, he added:

“For instance, I know my real family isn’t my blood family.”

Tohru had a dreamy smile as he said that, and even though he wasn’t looking at him, Ryou couldn’t help but hope that, by “real family”, he meant Nanako, Yu, and him. It was something he’d been trying to convey, after all. That was why he invited his partner for dinner more often, even though he had a hard time even having dinner at home these days.

He wanted to ask, for a second, but he thought it wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, he said pensively:

“I see. So that’s what she meant…”

He thought about it for a second, and added with a sigh:

“I guess I’ve been even worse of a father than I thought.”

But he would try to change, he told himself. It wouldn’t mean giving up on Chisato, but he had to focus more on what was in front of him, and on the important people in his life.

_Nanako, Yu, and Tohru. His real family._


	10. Naoto again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I almost forgot to post this chapter...
> 
> Today, Dojima is cute and Adachi runs away. Also Naoto disappears, I guess...
> 
> Enjoy!

Tohru was eating at the Dojimas that night. It was happening more often ever since his partner had decided to spend more time with his family in the evening. Why he always invited his junior was a mystery, though. Did the man pity him that much? Was he worried that he might feel left out somehow?

This was weird, Tohru decided, but still sort of fine. The food was edible, and Narukami even cooked sometimes. He hated the brat from the bottom of his heart, but he had to admit that his cooking was pretty decent.

_Mune’s was better, though._

Talking about the annoying kid, he was explaining the details of his future trip to Tatsumi Port Island, where Dojima had apparently been a couple of times when he was young. As for Tohru, he was playing his usual game, which was slowly turning into “how much can I fluster Dojima in public without being hit”. All in all, he was having a fairly good time.

Once everyone was done eating and the table was cleared, Nanako announced that she was going to bed, but her father stopped her:

“Nanako? About tomorrow, uh… I forgot to tell you, but I had to exchange shifts with someone, so I’ll come home late. And I know I promised to read you a story, so…”

He seemed exceedingly uncomfortable when he said this; vulnerable, even. Tohru wondered when Dojima had started to show this side of himself to so many people, but he assumed that it was part of his new family plan. Why Tohru was included in it, however, he didn’t know. But he guessed that he’d seen enough of the guy’s weaknesses already, so it wasn’t a problem anymore.

Nanako pouted, probably without realizing it, and she looked pretty sad when she said it was okay and she understood.

“It’s not what I meant,” her father explained. “Do you want to do it tonight instead? If I can leave Adachi alone with Yu, that is.”

He turned to Tohru as he said that, and even though the guest hated the idea of being left alone with fucking Narukami, Nanako’s hopeful look still made him accept. He had a role to play anyway, and he wasn’t supposed to openly loath the brat.

“Yay, thank you Dad!” the little girl cheered with the brightest smile Tohru had ever seen on her. “I’ll tell you when I’m ready, okay?” she added excitedly.

“Sure,” Dojima nodded.

He thanked his guest and nephew for understanding, and left soon after, when his kid ran downstairs with a book in hand. She thanked them as well once she’d calmed down a little, and she urged her father to follow her. Tohru heard him tell her to be more careful and to stop running down the stairs, and with that, he was left in complete silence, wondering what the hell he could say to the brat. Narukami seemed to be thinking intently, and after a little while, he suddenly offered:

“Do you want to go upstairs and eavesdrop on them?”

Tohru didn’t expect that at all, but he still accepted gladly. Anything was better than being alone with that kid, and his idea sounded like fun.

They walked upstairs as silently as possible, and Narukami even warned him about creaking stairs and floor boards. He seemed so well informed about them that it was almost suspicious, but Tohru didn’t say anything on the matter, and they soon reached Nanako’s door. Sadly for them, it was closed, but if they walked close enough, they could hear everything. Apparently, it was the story of the pink alligator, and—

_Wait. Was Ryou really making different voices for the characters?_

Tohru stifled a laugh at that, earning a disapproving look from his fellow spy. They stayed like that for a few minutes, hearing the various voices from Ryou and the occasional comments from Nanako. Tohru had to admit that it was pretty cute, and he’d have given anything to be able to see them.

_Mune did that as well. Apparently, Kaoru was adamant that he_ had _to change his voice for each character, and one of Tohru’s biggest regrets was that by the time he could have witnessed it, the kid was too old for bedtime stories already. Mune seemed so sad when he told him about it that the cop had jokingly asked for his own story, and he only got a playful punch on the shoulder as a reply._

Narukami walked past him, motioning that it was time to leave, and that made him snap back to reality. They walked downstairs as silently as possible, and Dojima joined them soon after. They had started talking about life in Tokyo, and the newcomer didn’t seem to suspect that they’d been sneaking on him the entire time.

The brat left a few minutes later, and they were finally alone.

“Thank you for agreeing to this. Nanako really wanted that story, and I feel like I’ve let her down enough already,” the man said, turning to him with a shy smile.

“No problem. She looked so happy that I couldn’t disappoint her,” Tohru replied with a shrug.

His partner then leaned in for a kiss, and it was so soft and tender that it almost made him uncomfortable. It wasn’t bad, though… Just a bit too un-Mune for his taste, so like always, he decided to add a bit more passion to it. He tried to push the guy back, so that he could be on his lap, where he had more control, but this time, it seemed that Dojima was determined to stay in charge of the pace. And apparently, it was going to be sweet and agonizingly slow.

It should have been boring, Tohru told himself, but actually, it wasn’t. Compared to their first few kisses, the man seemed to have relearned everything. Dojima was good, that was for sure, and he was starting to really know what made his partner tick. The taste of food and coffee was covering the cigarettes for once, and the guy was brushing the hair next to his ear gently.

Tohru was starting to melt, he could feel it. He was turning into a mess, needy and desperate for more, and he hated it. The other broke the kiss before he was ready though, leaving him breathless, and he kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds, hoping that it wouldn’t be over so soon.

Dojima chuckled softly, and his partner finally opened his eyes.

“Do you want to stay here for the night?” the man suddenly asked.

His hand was still on Tohru’s cheek, his face just a few inches from him, and the younger man was dying to accept, even though the previous kiss promised for something sweet and slow that he wasn’t used to, and that would probably be hard to mistake for Mune.

“What about the kids though?” he still asked, because there was a tenderness in Ryou’s eyes that was puzzling him.

“It’ll be fine,” the other man dismissed. “We can tell them that you fell asleep on the couch and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I think the Ryou they know would definitely wake me up, as harshly as possible,” Tohru chuckled.

His partner laughed.

“Come on, I can be nice sometimes,” he retorted. “I’m only acting like that when you’re slacking off, or when you’re sharing classified information with my nephew.”

“If you say so…” Tohru replied with an unconvinced look.

“Anyway, will you stay?”

“I wasn’t thinking about the morning, actually… These traditional houses aren’t exactly soundproof, I mean…” Tohru explained, wondering if he was refusing because it was something Mune would have never done, or because there was something really unsettling about Dojima that night.

“Oh… I was really thinking about sleeping, you know,” he said with an embarrassed look.

_This couldn’t be good… Now that Tohru was thinking about it, the guy was asking for hugs and cute massages more often than he initiated sex, these days. His junior had tried to take it as some kind of foreplay until now, but this was something else entirely._

“You mean on the couch?” he asked.

Dojima sighed.

“No, I meant with me.”

The man was looking him straight in the eyes with the most earnest, hopeful look Tohru had ever seen, and it became official that he had to run away from this place as fast as he could. He knew that having the detective in charge of the case being obviously in love with the murderer should have been hilarious, but now that it was actually happening to him, it really wasn’t.

“But you said yourself that Nanako wakes up almost as early as you do. And I’m not waking up before her,” he explained.

Dojima chuckled.

“I can carry you downstairs in the morning. You won’t even have to wake up.”

“With those stairs? I don’t trust you.”

“Fine, how about I stay downstairs with you?”

_Why did that man have to be so stubborn sometimes?!_

As a last resort, Tohru tried a more direct approach and asked:

“Why do you want to sleep with me so badly, all of a sudden?”

The ball was in Dojima’s court now, and if everything went well, he wouldn’t be able to answer that question.

“I…” the man started, but he didn’t go further than that.

He gaped, searching for words, and eventually looked down, defeated. Taking advantage of this momentary weakness, Tohru delivered the final blow:

“It would be too risky, Ryou.”

The man sighed.

“I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Tohru had never felt so relieved in his life.

_That was close…_

“I have to leave now. See you tomorrow,” he said as he got up from the couch and walked toward the entrance.

Dojima didn’t follow immediately, but he still came to kiss Tohru goodbye, once he was ready to leave.

_‘This is bad. This is really bad!’_ Tohru thought as he walked home. His partner was only supposed to be a replacement for Mune! Things weren’t supposed to turn out this way!

He couldn’t keep going like this, he decided. He had to put an end to this before Dojima became too involved, or else the guy might try to stop him from going back to Tokyo! And what would he say to Mune, if his replacement decided to keep in contact?

This would only bring him trouble, and the reward wasn’t worth the risks.

_Plus, Dojima didn’t seem to be interested in sex anymore, so there was really nothing left for him in this relationship anyway._

.

Tohru was avoiding him. That much was clear in Ryou’s mind, even though he had no idea where it was coming from. His partner now declined his offers to have dinner with him, even when Ryou promised premium food, arguing that he was either tired or busy. Plus, he walked home in the evening instead of asking for a ride, even when they both finished at the same time. He said it was because summer would end soon and he wanted to enjoy the sun while he could, which was very suspicious given how much he hated being outside.

Could it be that Ryou had done something wrong? It was true that they didn’t leave on the best terms, last time Tohru came over for dinner. Ryou had met resistance from the other for the first time ever since they met, and it had been quite a shock for him. Especially since they’d done so much more than just cuddling and falling asleep in each other’s arms already… Was it too much to ask to have this for once? Sure, it would be bad if Nanako or Yu found out, since it was such a small town, but…

Ryou sighed. In any case, it seemed obvious that the problem was coming from there. He’d assumed that his partner was just really shy at first, but now, he was starting to wonder if Tohru wasn’t expecting something different from him. Maybe he should have been less forward? Maybe he should have been more open? Maybe he should have told the other why it was so important for him?

The detective shook his head, defeated. He had no idea what to do, but as Tohru walked behind him without even brushing against his back a little, he felt fully how much he missed him.

_He had to make things right, somehow._

.

Tohru had been avoiding Dojima for about a week now, and to be honest, things weren’t going as smoothly as he’d planned. He thought that it would be easy, and that the hardest part would be to say no to his partner, but he was wrong.

The hardest part was that he found himself missing Mune more and more, now that he didn’t have anything to make up for his absence. He even missed the family dinners at the Dojimas sometimes! Sure, he was glad that he didn’t have to deal with Narukami anymore, but whenever he heard his partner talk about something his nephew told him, or something the brat did with Nanako, he felt a pang of jealousy, as if it should have been _him_ instead.

He shouldn’t feel affected by that, Tohru told himself, but whenever he was spending the evening alone in his apartment, he found himself longing for the awkward warmth of Ryou’s house, wondering what the Dojimas were doing while he was rotting on his couch.

It had only been a few days, but Tohru already had enough. He was missing Mune a lot more than usual that night, for some reason, and in a moment of weakness, he searched for his Iwai box under the couch.

The first thing his eyes fell on was a stain on the carpet, right in front of it.

_It was from that day, huh… And he thought he had cleaned it properly. Why did Dojima’s cum have to haunt him like that?_

He sighed, and decided that he’d take care of it later. Instead, he grabbed the box and searched its content again. There were so many memories in there… So many things that Inaba and its fake Mune and makeshift family couldn’t provide him with…

He took out everything except for the modified gun, and started putting the content everywhere in his flat. The apron was hung on one of the cupboard doors in the kitchen, Kaoru’s drawings were scattered on the low table until he could buy magnets to stick some of them on the fridge, and as he took out the last one, he decided to leave the box in his room from now on, to keep it closer to him.

His life with the Iwais was so much better, Tohru reminded himself. He really shouldn’t miss whatever he had in Inaba. He didn’t need anything from this shithole anyway. He’d leave it soon enough to go back home.

_To his real family._

.

 “Has anyone seen Shirogane recently?” Dojima asked a few days later.

The Detective Brat hadn’t been coming to the station for a while, but he was usually in town during the day. These days, however, he was nowhere to be seen.

_Except on the Midnight Channel, that was._

Tohru had known that it was bound to happen ever since the idiot showed up on the local TV to expose his theories on the murders. “The Detective Prince,” they called him. What a load of bullshit. He’d been really happy to see the brat disappear, despite how fun it was to mess with him and then let Dojima deal with their arguments. The boy was so easy to annoy… Tohru only had to act a little childish, a little incompetent, and the Detective Brat was fuming already. Not to mention how much he hated being called “Naoto-kun” in a patronizing way.

Tohru would miss that, honestly. However, it would be great if Shirogane could just die in the TV world… After all, he had to admit that the kid was pretty good, and it would be bad if he found out the truth about Namatame before Tohru could expose him…

_Or if he discovered the truth about Tohru himself, but he’d rather not think about it…_

“Adachi, you haven’t seen Shirogane recently, have you?” Dojima asked once he was done harassing everyone else.

Tohru realized that no matter what happened to the Detective Brat, it would be better if it was known that he was worried about him, contrary to the rest of the station minus his partner. That was why he replied:

“No, not for the past couple of days. I’m a bit worried, actually…”

“Me too. Maybe he really ran away because he was frustrated, but that doesn’t sound like him. He wouldn’t give up so easily…” Dojima declared with a frown.

He kept silent for a minute, thinking, and finally announced:

“Come with me, we’ll go look for him.”

Ryou was worried about Shirogane; he really was. However, if he was honest with himself, he’d have to admit that he was also glad for the chance to spend more time with Tohru. He still didn’t know what to do to make up with him, especially since he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong exactly, and his attempts to talk about it were only met with fake ignorance. Still, he was determined to find out. And since no one else seemed to care about the young detective beside his partner and him, he had the perfect excuse to get closer to Tohru again.

.

The Detective Brat came back from his trip inside the TV after barely a couple of days, and the news soon spread that the kid had been a girl all along. Everyone was dumbfounded when they found out, and it became the talk of the town. It seemed to annoy her a lot, especially since it almost overshadowed that she’d been kidnapped just like the others, and that she could now prove that Mitsuo wasn’t the real culprit.

Of course, the revelation about Naoto’s gender caused a lot less trouble for everyone at the station than the fact that the police had falsely charged a high school student, even though the guy had still killed a man in the end.

If Tohru hadn’t been caught up in this mess, he would have made fun of all of those idiots. Unfortunately, it didn’t spare him, nor Dojima.

_The bitch should have died in that TV. Wasn’t there a way to make sure people would stay in there once they were thrown inside?_


	11. When the Mune Hits Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alternative title: "Oh my god I think I like you"
> 
> Today, Adachi has sex and sinks even more (he's started digging at this point, and no force on Earth can stop him).

Even after they found Naoto, Tohru realized that he didn’t have it in him to keep avoiding Ryou. The guy hadn’t done anything … cute and non-sexual ever since last time, and even when his junior had dinner at his place the night before to celebrate her safe return, he hadn’t tried anything.

_Actually, he’d even gone to bed early that night, leaving Tohru with the kids. He’d gotten drunk to avoid dealing with the guy for nothing…_

Maybe it meant that he could put their relationship back on the right track? Tohru thought a few days later, after Dojima hadn’t shown any new signs of sappiness. There was something in his eyes sometimes, however; a little flicker of something his junior couldn’t describe, but that made him uncomfortable.

_He’d seen that in Mune, a few times, and that was probably what made his partner so much more attractive these days; because it made them look even more alike._

Anyway, that wasn’t the point. The real point here was that Tohru now felt certain that he knew who his real family was—the Iwais, of course—and spending time with Dojima felt less … risky than it had been a few weeks earlier.

He had plenty of reasons to go back to his partner, actually. He missed Mune too much. Sex was the only good thing around here, and he needed some kind of distraction. He needed to keep Dojima close to him to avoid being suspected. The more he thought about it, the fewer reasons he found not to do it.

Plus, there was something he’d always dreamed of doing, and if he managed to bring Ryou into it… It promised to be interesting!

.

Tohru had always thought of himself as the perfect blend between an opportunist and a planner. He knew how to make a perfect plan, and he was good at seizing opportunities. In this case, the one he’d been waiting for arose barely a few days after he’d decided what he wanted to do, and it came in the form of heavy rain during a patrol.

 “Dojima-san, I’m cold,” he whined.

They were back to the station’s changing room, and it was just Dojima and him there. Tohru didn’t know why his partner had decided to go patrolling on foot during the rainy season, but as soon as it became obvious that it was going to rain, he had done his best to stay outside. They came back completely soaked.

“It’s your fault for keeping us outside,” the other grumbled. “And why did you have to run like that when it started raining? We could have stayed in a shop.”

“But I thought it would be fine… And it was fun, wasn’t it?” he said with a bright smile.

His partner sighed heavily.

“Just don’t do it again.”

“Yes, Sir!” Tohru exclaimed, still smiling.

He’d heard the man laugh when he was running after him, at some point. Actually, this part of his plan was a lot more entertaining than Tohru had thought. He usually hated getting wet, but running under the cold October rain with his partner felt surprisingly good. Was it because splashing in the puddles felt so great when his parents would never let him do it as a kid? Was it because he was thinking about the next step of his plan? Was it because Ryou was running after him, screaming at him to stop being an idiot until he started laughing too? Was it because it was so funny to think about how they were two grown up detectives, playing chase and giggling like small children when there was a gruesome murder case to solve? He didn’t know, but for the first time in months, Tohru wasn’t feeling homesick or empty. At that moment, his heart was filled with joy and disgustingly warm feelings.

_He was almost happy to be in Inaba._

…

_Wait no, he wasn’t!_

It was fun to mess with ~~Ryou~~ Dojima; that was all. He’d still burn this shithole to the ground, if given the chance.

Anyway. Now, it was time for the next step of his perfect plan.

“Why don’t we take a shower?” he offered. “There’s no one in there at this time, it should be fine.”

It was the ideal moment to do what he wanted. It was late enough that there weren’t many people left at the station, but still too early for anyone to use the showers.

“Are you trying to slack off some more?” his partner asked with a suspicious frown.

“I just think it would be better than just putting on dry clothes,” he explained, raising his arms defensively.

The other thought about it for a moment, and Tohru started fearing that he’d be against it, meaning that they’d gotten soaked for nothing.

“Fine, I guess it’s a good idea,” Dojima admitted.

_Perfect!_

They got out of their drenched clothes and grabbed what they needed for the shower, which in Tohru’s case included a condom and a bottle of special lube he’d bought for the occasion*.

“Adachi, what are you doing?” Dojima asked loudly when his junior walked behind him in the same stall.

_“I’m carrying out my master plan,”_ he thought.

“Oops, sorry Sir!” he replied just as loudly, in case anyone heard them.

Instead of moving out to another stall, like Ryou expected him to, Tohru just stepped closer with a playful look and whispered in his ear:

“I’ve always wanted to do that, you know… And since you’re not coming over to my place anymore and we can’t risk it at yours, well…”

He let a hand trail on Ryou’s chest, slowly going further down until he reached his crotch and palmed it.

“… I thought we could have some fun,” he concluded, his breath tickling his senior’s ear, his voice so soft and full of lust that Ryou couldn’t believe it was his goofy partner talking to him right now.

His blood rushed toward his groin as he heard that. He’d be lying if he said he’d never fantasized about that, and to have Tohru being the one offering…

“I have everything we need, you know… You just have to say yes,” the other added, kissing his neck sensually as he kept stroking his now fully hard cock.

That was the last push Ryou needed. It was dangerous and incredibly stupid, but the stalls hid them completely and if there was one perfect moment to do it, it was now.

How much of this was improvised and how much was planned? He didn’t know, but it didn’t matter to him at the moment. All that mattered was that Tohru wanted him, they hadn’t had sex in a while now, and he really, _really_ wanted to do it.

He pinned his partner against the wall to kiss him, turning on the water at the same time. It was always cold for the first few seconds, but it wasn’t worse than the rain from earlier, and neither of them flinched when it poured down on them. Ryou was way too busy exploring the other’s mouth to care anyway, only stopping to nip at his bottom lip just the way he liked and enjoying the way Tohru writhed against him to deepen the contact.

He only realized how cold he’d been when the water became warmer, and he paused for a second to raise his head and enjoy it.

“I’d never have thought you’d accept,” his partner said.

“Well, I am full of surprises,” Ryou replied with a grin.

Of course, Tohru knew it would be great. But now that he was here, with his partner’s hot body pressing him against the cold tiles, he had to admit that it was even better than he’d thought. He’d never had the other man so riled up, so hungry, and he loved everything about it. The rush, the feeling of danger…

Despite that, they still took their time, for the most part. They washed each other, exploring their bodies, and even though they’d had sex countless times, Tohru realized that there were plenty of things he had never noticed before about his partner, like his graying hairs, or how his shoulders were broader than Mune’s, or how he shivered whenever Tohru brushed his sides. The absence of tattoos was weird to him, now that he really looked at the man, and he stopped himself before he went too far, because he shouldn’t be thinking about Dojima right now anyway.

“Are you ready?” he asked once they were both thoroughly clean, warm, and more importantly, more turned on than they had ever been.

His partner nodded and they turned off the water while Tohru took out the lube. The other prepared him without even asking why he had that at the station.

“Hurry up, I’m cold,” the younger man complained.

“Don’t be so impatient,” Ryou chuckled. “And don’t move, the floor is slippery enough as it is,” he added when Tohru started wiggling his butt, just to make his point.

He soon found himself with his back against the wall again, one leg up, and it wasn’t exactly stable but still fine as long as he could use the other man for support. His partner started moving in him, and as he found his pace—slow and safe to avoid slipping—Tohru found it harder to repress his moans. It was so warm and wet, the tiles behind him were still pretty cold against his hot skin, Ryou now smelled like soap, and his skin was slippery under his fingers.

“Be quiet, they’re going to hear us,” his senior hissed against his ear, but he seemed pretty riled up by that, especially when Tohru resorted to biting his shoulder to muffle the sounds.

It felt so good in there, with the sound of water and the risk of getting caught, low yet very present, and Ryou was driving him crazy with the way he gripped his ass with his free hand, the way he groaned with every bite and scratch Tohru added to his body, which was marking easily thanks to the heat. And like always, there were those soft praises on how good his junior was doing, how amazing it felt to be inside him. He loved that so much…

“Ryou…” he breathed at some point, without realizing it.

Actually, he wouldn’t even have noticed if his partner hadn’t chuckled against his ear and told him how sexy his name sounded when it came out of Tohru’s mouth like that.

But he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Ryou right now, he reminded himself, feeling a rush of panic.

“Let’s change position, I’m getting uncomfortable,” he managed to say, although it probably didn’t sound so articulate or grammatically correct in reality.

His partner released him without asking questions and only re-entered him once he was back on his two feet, facing the wall. Tohru hadn’t noticed until now how tiring his earlier position had been. Now that they were both perfectly stable, Ryou stopped trying to be careful and rammed inside him harder, forcing Tohru to put a hand on his mouth and repress the loud cries of pleasure he wanted to let out. As he noticed it, the other replaced it with his own hand, which somehow made it feel even better.

He knew that Ryou usually preferred to face him, but he was pretty compliant and had stopped objecting when his junior explained that it felt better for him. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t entirely true either. It was just that in this position, it was easier to think about Mune, and it was exactly why Tohru had asked for it now. Because even though having sex in the station’s showers was not something that would have been possible with the retailer, he really wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Ryou.

_But it still felt so good when the other forcefully kept his mouth shut and gripped his hips hard enough to bruise while the hot water made the air almost suffocating…_

“Touch yourself, Tohru,” his partner breathed against his ear, and his rasping voice sounded so great that Tohru forgot whatever he was thinking about and just moaned in agreement.

His hand was shaking when he started stroking his cock, and the way Ryou was still pounding him didn’t help, but it felt amazing, especially since his back was so cold from being against the wall, making his partner feel even hotter against his skin. He could hear him groan softly next to his ear, and it probably wasn’t that loud, but it was still all Tohru could hear. He was so close…

Had it not been for Ryou’s hand on his mouth, he would have screamed the man’s name for the whole station to hear as he came hard on the tiles in front of him. His partner didn’t last much longer, and it took most of Tohru’s willpower not to let himself fall on the ground once the other slipped out and stopped supporting him.

The water quickly washed away his cum as well as all traces of what they’d done here. They turned it off and stayed like this for a moment while they tried to catch their breaths, letting the water drip on their skins. Tohru was still facing the wall while his partner got rid of the condom and came back to hug him from behind, resting his head on his junior’s shoulder.

Tohru turned around after a moment to kiss him. He should feel ashamed of himself, he knew it. Having sex with that man was fine as long as he was thinking about Mune, or so he used to think. However, it was like all of his guilt had gone down the drain along with the fucks he should have given, and he was too tired and content to try looking for them.

_They would all come back soon enough, anyway._

His partner hugged him tight while they kissed lazily, still trying to come back to their senses.

“It was amazing,” he commented.

Tohru agreed.

Ryou would have never expected to do this someday, but as they were drying each other—and he took great pleasure in ruffling the other’s hair to see if it could be even messier than usual—he realized that it felt great. It was bad, and even more unprofessional than having an affair with his colleague, but he didn’t care anymore. Tohru made his life full of surprises like that—something Chisato had never done—and he loved everything about it.

Of course, Ryou’s good mood died once they were out of the changing room. He’d stopped thinking about it earlier, when he was pinning his junior against the wall, making him moan his name for the first time since their relationship started—and damn did he regret having to muffle the rest; he would have loved to hear it again and again and—

_What was he thinking again?_

He stepped inside the station’s main room and remembered suddenly what the problem was. It really wasn’t the right time to have another hard on. There were still people around who might have heard them, or found their showering time very suspicious, and maybe they shouldn’t have done that, actually… He was the older of the two, it was his responsibility to stop his junior’s reckless initiatives!

He felt a bit nervous for a while, but no one seemed disturbed and after a few minutes, he stopped thinking about it. Tohru touched his back lightly when he walked behind him to grab something, and Ryou asked him to bring back a cup of coffee while he was at it, thinking already about how he’d make their hands brush when he’d take it.

_He had missed their little game so much…_

.

It had taken until the end of the day for Tohru to come back to his senses and realize the implications of what he had done. It had been driving him crazy ever since. Having sex with Dojima while thinking about Mune was questionable, but it was fine. After all, when he didn’t have that, he felt so bored and missed home so much that he had killed two people.

_How could anyone live in this place without turning into a psychopathic killer was beyond him, to be honest._

Anyway, he wouldn’t go as far as to say that he did it for Mune, but at least there was still a connection between them. What happened in the station’s showers, however…

Tohru let out a frustrated sigh. It shouldn’t have happened. Dojima was only supposed to be a replacement for Mune! A sub-par Mune! A vessel that helped him think about Mune! Not someone whose name was worth saying during sex. Not someone he wanted to kiss even in full light. Not someone who made him feel disgustingly warm and fuzzy whenever they did something stupid like running under the rain. Those were supposed to be for Mune, and for Mune alone. And yet, there was now something new whenever they brushed against each other as part of this stupid game they had. Tohru didn’t want to know what it was, so he had started avoiding the guy again.

_It gave him more time to think about how he could go home anyway._

There wasn’t much to think about, though. His only worthy conclusion was that people should keep dying, or else everyone would start losing interest in the case. However, he didn’t know how he could do that exactly. There had been no opportunity nor new idea, and Tohru was currently bored out of his mind.

He got up and checked his fridge for food. It was a lot less empty than a few weeks ago, because he had started cooking again. Seeing the apron standing in plain sight made him want to give it another shot, and ever since what happened, its presence almost seemed accusing.

_The first time he had tried cooking with it here had felt more like an offering to appease its wrath than actual food making, to be honest._

He grabbed it and put it on once he’d taken out what he needed. He had to finish his cabbage soon, and he even had the ingredients to make _okonomiyaki._ He might have started cooking again out of guilt, but it still made him feel better; closer to his former life and his better self. It was even relaxing, somehow. Keeping his hands busy greatly helped him calm his nerves, the same way working on his modified airsoft guns had, back in Tokyo. As expected, he couldn’t find anything close around here and he didn’t really want to anyway, but food was universal and he only needed simple ingredients.

Of course, he kept eating cheap noodles for lunch at the station, since he didn’t want Ryou to notice his change of habit. The man might find it weird and ask questions. Or worse, he might want to try his food! This idea terrified Tohru, because he knew that with his current state of mind, he might let him. And his experience with Mune had showed that it was the first step of something that should never start.

Tohru almost cut himself at the thought. It had been close, and his nail wasn’t as fortunate as the rest of his finger. He got rid of the half cut part and took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind of anything that wasn’t making his dinner. Knife in hand, he stared at the half minced cabbage and remembered the day the retailer had taught him how to make it. It had been a separate lesson in his special “Cabbage of Survival” course. Kaoru was doing his homework in his room, and Mune had taken advantage of that to go behind him and “show him how to work a knife”, just to see how flustered he could make his pupil. It had been pretty effective.

_Tohru had almost cut himself that time, just like now…_

He finished mincing the cabbage and grabbed other ingredients that needed to be cut while Mune’s voice resonated in his head with tips and variants. Tohru could even remember what Kaoru and his father preferred to put in theirs, and he smiled at that. Once everything was ready, he started cooking the various layers while the retailer kept giving him instructions on how to make sure that everything was ready for the next step.

_Mune always said that the Hiroshima version was the best._

The cop smiled as he put the finishing touches to his meal. He should have started cooking sooner…

Once he was done eating, he took a look at the clock and realized with horror that it wasn’t even ten, and he wasn’t close to being tired. He tried washing the dishes to kill more time, but it barely lasted ten minutes. And the flat was perfectly clean already, because he had nothing better to do. And now that he wasn’t wearing it anymore, the apron was once again hanging on the cupboard door disapprovingly.

Tohru needed to go home, he thought once again that day. He unwrapped a lollipop and put it in his mouth.

He’d bought them soon after taking out the Iwai box. They were Mune’s brand, and this one was cherry flavored. The taste appeased him; reminded him of better times…

_He had jerked off while sucking on them more than once, ever since he’d bought them, and he felt stupid for not having thought about it earlier._

…but at the same time, the sweet flavor also hurt him more than anything else. It was exactly what Tohru needed right now: a comfort, and a punishment.

He rolled it against his tongue pensively as he thought about home and how to get back there. Then, for the first time in a while, he started having an idea. There was no way for him to force people to die faster inside the TV, but if he had no control over what happened in there, he could still do something about what happened outside. If the so-called “Investigation Team” didn’t rescue the victims, then no one would. And given how much they relied on their leader to make all the decisions…

He smiled ominously.

He had a plan.

* * *

*Thank you, Tanaka’s Amazing Commodities — Midnight Edition


	12. Losing Nanako-ntrol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adachi is an idiot again. The Dojimas are in the hospital. Does it count as a family trip?
> 
> Enjoy!

Sending the brat a mysterious letter of threat had been Tohru’s most entertaining idea ever since he’d arrived in Inaba. Looking at everyone panicking over it was so fun! It was a pretty risky idea, but people were so used to seeing him around Dojima’s house that surely, no one would notice him putting a letter in the mailbox. And even if someone reported it to the police, he could easily make sure it got destroyed before it reached the lab. He had the perfect position for something like this.

Then came something unexpected: the next victim’s identity was revealed, and from what Tohru could see, it was going to be Nanako. It complicated things further, since there was no way the brat would not rescue her, but the detective knew that a child being involved automatically made any case more dramatic, so she didn’t even have to die. If there was a right moment to pin the murders on Namatame, it would be after her disappearance.

Tohru was pretty proud of his plan when he sent his second letter, this time making sure that Dojima would see it first, because it would make everything even better. The letter would end up in Tohru’s hands sooner or later anyway, and the older detective would be so worried that he’d probably make tons of shitty decisions, such as leaving his young daughter alone at home after seeing a letter mentioning hurting “someone close” to his nephew.

_How stupid could he be to not think even for a second that this person might be her?_

Tohru never wanted Nanako to get involved in all this, to be honest. She was pretty cool for a kid, she reminded him a lot of Kaoru at her age, and she was probably the only person in the entire town who didn’t think of him as a complete moron. He liked her, really. However, the people of Inaba had spoken, and there was nothing he could do about it.

It was all for the sake of getting his real family back, he reminded himself. He didn’t want to be around the fakes anymore. Plus, Narukami would save her for sure. And if he didn’t, then maybe Tohru could try something himself, since the brat and his little team were the living proof that it was possible to go inside the TV and out safely.

_It would improve his image even more, actually… But he really didn’t want to risk his life in there if he didn’t have to._

He had managed to convince himself that she’d be fine so well that he was probably the only one who stayed calm when everyone started freaking out because she had disappeared. All he could see at that moment was that it was the perfect time to put the blame on Namatame. Now that the man had hurt a child, especially Dojima’s precious daughter, everyone would be ready to lash out at him. They wouldn’t try to look further than that, and since spring wouldn’t be so far, Tohru could even afford to let the murders stop, thus confirming that the delivery guy was responsible for everything.

When the right time came, he dropped a few hints about who the culprit might be, still playing the role of an idiot, and he let the plot unfold in front of him, just as planned. Everything had been going so smoothly…

_…and then Ryou had to get hurt._

Tohru’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him on the ground near the car, still trying to crawl toward Namatame’s van as if it would change anything. Everything became blurry. He just ran to Ryou while everyone else focused on finding Nanako, who of course had already been thrown into the big TV screen at the back of the van. Apparently, the guy had jumped in right after her, and he was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Naoto called an ambulance, making her the only responsible person around. Of course, Tohru would have done that himself, if he hadn’t been so busy making sure that his idiotic, reckless partner was still alive.

The kids decided not to go after Nanako right away for some reason, and he would have laughed at the way they talked about the TV world so openly if he hadn’t been so busy worrying about Ryou. And of course, after everything he’d done for the man, that moron had to turn to his damn nephew for help, even though the brat hadn’t batted an eyelid when he saw him so badly injured…

_Seriously, didn’t everything they shared mean anything to that man? Why Narukami, of all people?!_

Even the hospital staff refused to let him in Ryou’s room right away because “he wasn’t family”; as if the fact that everyone saw them together all the time meant nothing. Tohru knew the nurse who told him that; he had seen her getting drunk at the bar more than once. He could have screamed in frustration, if it had at least remotely fitted his harmless persona.

_And he would have punched the bitch and the entire team of brats, while he was at it._

Instead, he waited patiently and looked at Narukami’s friends getting all worked up and worrying about their “leader” as if _he_ was the one who got injured.

_These people were so full of shit. If only the world could just disappear, everything would be so much better…_

He glared at them for a minute and left, a bitter taste in his mouth.

.

Ryou remembered everything that happened, from the second he’d started his car to the moment he ended up in an ambulance, clear as day. Especially the accident, actually. His mind had gone in full detective mode then, and he had tried his best to memorize everything for his future testimony, once the bastard who had dared hurt his precious daughter was caught and they started gathering evidence against him.

He remembered the crash, the pain, and how hard it had been to stay awake. He’d crawled out of the car to try and reach Nanako. There was no one to save her except for him, and he felt like a complete idiot for leaving her alone.

_Chisato would have killed him for that, and she would have been right…_

Ryou should have brought his daughter with him to the station. He should have trusted his nephew. He should have asked Tohru or the neighbors to keep an eye on her. He should have done something, but now it was too late and all he could do was gather the last of his strength to remember what happened and to find her, no matter what.

It turned out that she wasn’t inside the van, or at least it was what the kids said. Tohru had run toward him, and he had felt so happy… He remembered the concern in his partner’s eyes, how weak yet reassuring his smile was when he told him that they’d find Nanako soon, and how much he wanted the other to stay when the ambulance came and took him away.

Then, he woke up in a hospital room, with one of those gowns that he hated so much and an unreasonable amount of machines around him. He wanted to call for his partner first, but he then remembered that his daughter was in danger and he asked Yu to find her for him. He didn’t know the details and didn’t care much, but it seemed that his nephew knew how to save her. After that, he told the nurse to get Tohru, who had apparently been left out because he “wasn’t family”.

_What a joke. These people didn’t know anything. Tohru was more his family than his actual sister! Ryou understood now what his partner meant when he said that family was something you chose, and he felt like a complete idiot for not having seen that earlier._

He was told that Tohru had left a bit earlier, probably because he was sick of waiting and annoyed for not being let in. Before he fell asleep, the detective made sure to tell the nurse to let him in any time from now on.

.

Just as planned, Nanako was back the day after her disappearance, and Namatame was promptly arrested. Since Ryou couldn’t do much from the hospital, Tohru took over the case, which gave him a lot more work than before, but also meant that he could take more credit for the man’s capture. If that didn’t send him back to Tokyo right away, he didn’t know what would.

Contrary to what was planned though, Nanako came back very sick, and her health showed no sign of improvement. Tohru told himself that he didn’t care, but he didn’t really believe it.

_Maybe that was why he wasn’t feeling as happy as he should at the idea of going home soon…_

Tohru shook his head, trying to focus on work again. He could go interrogate Namatame soon, and he’d already decided to bring a few files with him to the hospital, so that he could keep an eye on Ryou while working on them. The man had almost died just a few days ago, but he was still running around the hospital like nothing had happened, ordering people around from his wheelchair, as if anyone could take him seriously in his ridiculous gown.

Tohru smiled softly as he drove to the hospital. The nurses told him that Namatame was still too weak to be interrogated, so he went directly to Ryou’s room with a fruit basket.

“Adachi, what are you doing here?” the man barked when he saw him. “You should be interrogating the suspect!”

Despite the harsh words, Tohru knew that his partner was glad to see him and simply didn’t want the other people in the room to know about it.

“Relax, Dojima-san, I got turned down by the staff again. You know we can’t do anything until they allow us to.”

His partner grumbled for the form while the doctor finished checking on him, and his angry frown disappeared as soon as the hospital staff left the room.

“Thank you for coming, Tohru,” he said softly, and his expression was so full of glee that Tohru’s heart skipped a bit.

_He shouldn’t have come. He knew he shouldn’t have come. Why was he here again when he’d said just the day before that he wouldn’t visit ~~Ryou~~ Dojima again?_

“Did you miss me?” he asked with a grin.

How much of it was fake and how much was genuine happiness, he wasn’t sure…

“Of course I did,” Ryou scoffed, making his partner wonder how he could be so open about it. “There isn’t much to do around here anyway, and you’re the only one who lets me sneak out of this room to see Nanako.”

“Do you want me to wheel you to her room?” Tohru asked.

_Anything to avoid being alone with him._

The other man’s expression changed to something more pensive, and he shook his head slowly. He remained silent for a few minutes, and just when his partner started wondering if he could work on his files, he announced:

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

He sounded awfully serious, and a few days before, Tohru’s first reflex would have been to run away. Now however, everything was different, and he waited patiently for the rest.

“Do you remember when you told me that a real family is something you choose?”

“Sure,” he nodded, intrigued.

“Look… I know that you had to stay out of my room when I got hurt. So I wanted to tell you that you are a part of my family—my _real_ family—no matter what those people say.”

Ryou grabbed his junior’s hand as he said that, and Tohru didn’t move, too shaken by the words to react. He was currently experiencing a broad range of new feelings; a perfect mix of sheer surprise, pure joy, and complete terror.

“I… Thank you, Sir,” he choked.

“Why would you call me ‘Sir’ now, you idiot?” the other frowned.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous…” he said with a weak laugh.

Ryou squeezed his hand, and for a second, his happiness was stronger than his fear.

It didn’t last.

“Tohru, are you crying again?”

“I’m fine!” he retorted.

He was trying really hard to sound fine, but his voice betrayed him. Ryou opened his arms.

“Come here. No one will be around for an hour or so,” he said.

Tohru should have run away. That would have been the best decision. It didn’t matter anymore that being close to the main detective on the case was good for him; _he_ was the main detective now, anyway! And nothing was worth the unbearable turmoil he was in at the moment. It was just a fierce fight between joy and terror now, and neither side was winning. Instead, they just got stronger and stronger, and then Tohru ended up in Ryou’s arms. He had no idea when it happened.

He inhaled deeply, letting his nostrils fill with a surprisingly bland smell. His partner couldn’t smoke much these days, and he didn’t need to use cologne here, so he just smelled faintly like cigarette smoke, a lot like coffee, and somewhat like hospital, which should have been disgusting, but Tohru didn’t care. He calmed down as his partner started petting his hair gently, telling him that it was okay.

“You know I love you, right?” Ryou whispered in his ear, and it was both the best thing Tohru had ever heard and the worst.

_Why couldn’t it have been Mune? Why was he so happy to hear it from that man? What was wrong with him?!_

He nodded, unable to find a better reply, and once he felt a bit calmer…

_Once his cheeks stopped burning and his inner turmoil had vanished because it was apparently too intense for him to process._

…he straightened up and said with a forced smile:

“Now, how about we go see Nanako-chan?”

“Sure,” Ryou nodded.

The little girl was still pretty weak, but like always, her face brightened as soon as she saw them come into her room. Her father started talking to her, and Tohru took out his files to work, only stopping to make a few comments or to casually show her a new trick he’d practiced just for her.

It was awfully domestic but for some reason, he was feeling at peace, like he truly belonged here.

_This was so bad… But he’d worry about it another time._

.

Tohru started worrying as soon as he left the hospital. Well, not immediately after because he still felt relaxed and happy for a little while, but it barely lasted an hour before it was ruined by the very reasonable thoughts his joy had kept at bay earlier, such as:

_“They’re not real! You know that! The Dojimas were just a replacement and you shouldn’t get attached to them!”_

_“How could you do that to Mune and Kaoru? Are you going to give up on them now?”_

That was wrong, of course. It had to be! Tohru couldn’t start having feelings for Ryou, of all people! It wouldn’t end well. It could never end well! Plus, it was way too late to give up on his plan now that he’d gone so far.

He had _killed people,_ dammit! Sure, he didn’t feel a hint of remorse for that because the bitches deserved it, but from an external standpoint… It was a lot. He was risking so much just to go home! Plus, he _hated_ Inaba! If he was going to leave, he had to do it for good. He couldn’t have Ryou ask to keep in contact or something. And he couldn’t stay either.

_But he’d had to argue with Mune for so long just to earn the right to stay with him at night when Kaoru was around, while Ryou was so ready to let him do that… There were no boundaries with Ryou, nothing he couldn’t do. His partner had even said that he_ loved _him! Mune had never done that, not even once. The only thing they had was that half assed declaration about the moon, and Tohru wasn’t even sure that the other got it!_

Tohru grabbed a lollipop and sucked on it to calm himself a bit, drowning in the cherry flavor and the memories it brought. The Dojimas weren’t real, he kept telling himself as he rolled it on his tongue. They weren’t, and they never would be, he repeated as he curled up on the couch and grabbed his head. They just weren’t. So he shouldn’t care. He shouldn’t have cared when Ryou almost died, he shouldn’t care about Nanako’s condition getting worse, and he shouldn’t care about what would become of them once he left!

_But it was too late already, wasn’t it?_

He glanced at the accusatory apron across the room, and got up to put it on and make dinner.

.

Tohru spent the following days in a weird routine. He went to the station in the morning, a lollipop in mouth. He worked on files and urgent things he had to do there until it was time for lunch. He barely ate because he was nervous at the idea of going to the hospital, but he went there anyway because he had to interrogate Namatame. He sucked on a lollipop to relieve his stress. He told himself that he’d leave right after, but he never did. He spent the rest of his afternoon and most of his evening with Ryou and Nanako*. He went home and felt like shit because he had enjoyed spending time with them way too much. He took another lollipop and told himself that Mune was better. He cooked something, and went to bed convinced that he didn’t need the Dojimas and that he wouldn’t visit them at the hospital anymore. It never lasted long enough to stop him from going the day after…

It was horrible and Tohru hated it, but the hours he spent with them were the only time of the day when he didn’t feel entirely like shit. At least, the fact that there were always people around his partner and him meant that they didn’t even have enough privacy to kiss, which was just what he needed.

_Just sweet, fake family time, with his injured, fake family, and his loving, ~~real partner~~ fake Mune._

Then, of course, there was the bunch of brats who didn’t know what to do, now that the bad guy had been caught… Tohru had so much fun telling them about how Namatame had tried to hit on Bitch #2! Their reactions were priceless, especially the one from the Junes kid who probably had a crush on her or something. Tohru would have never thought he’d say that, but those kids really brought joy to his life!

_Except when they barged in Nanako’s room while Ryou and he were still there, ruining their quiet time…._

Everything mostly sucked, but of course, even this fragile balance of shit couldn’t last. Nanako’s condition got worse, and Tohru tried to distract himself by telling the kids that Namatame would probably go free, just to see what they would do about it.

_He hoped that they would kill him, to be honest._

After that, she almost died—she died for real and came back to life, actually—and Tohru told himself that he hadn’t cared about it, not even for a second. That he didn’t have to force himself to stay strong because he had to support Ryou, who had run to Namatame’s room as soon as he’d learned that she was dead. That he had enjoyed taking his sweet time going there and messing with the kids when really, he was just trying to think about something that wasn’t the little girl, one of the two kids in the whole world that he truly cared about. That he hadn’t panicked when he’d seen his partner screaming in front of the bastard’s room until he couldn’t anymore because his injuries had reopened. That there was a very logical reason why he’d stayed with Ryou until he fell asleep. That the relief he’d felt when he’d learned that Nanako would be fine after all was just because everyone else was acting happy around him.

_But of course, it had been an emotional rollercoaster that had forced him, once again, to face the ugly truth: he cared about these people way too much._

Anyway, this evening had been no fun. After all, the kids hadn’t killed Namatame when he’d given them the chance! What a drag…

.

The brats visited Namatame again, and for the first time since this whole series of events had started, Tohru feared for his safety. The kids probably knew that the guy wasn’t the real culprit by now. They were looking for the killer again, and now that the Detective Brat knew that the delivery man was only responsible for the kidnappings, there was no way she’d let the murderer escape so easily.

This wasn’t good for him… But there wasn’t anything he could do about it for now. An opportunity would surely arise if he waited for it, though. It always had! Or maybe the kids would be too stupid to figure out that it was him. There had to be something! Things couldn’t end this way!

.

Things ended this way, even when Tohru had gone through the trouble of transferring Namatame. His tongue slipped when the brats confronted him, he panicked, and now he was inside a TV and there was no chance for him to ever go back to his family in Tokyo. Or to stay in Inaba with his other family.

It was all over now… Everything he had, everything he wanted, his entire life… Ruined.

_Nice job, Tohru…_

He might as well take the world down with him.

* * *

 

*It was as if this hospital had no idea what visiting hours were, and honestly, it was perfect.


	13. Yu Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done!
> 
> In today's chapter, Adachi is exploring the TV world, and Dojima is worried about him. They're both as stupid as ever, but at least Dojima is cute?  
> Also, get ready for some Iwai! (kinda)
> 
> Enjoy!

Tohru had always thought of the TV world as some kind of death trap, but he was wrong. This place was only bad for unworthy people, but it loved him! It obeyed his every command, and he ruled over it like a king. Of course, the cohabitation with the lurking Shadows around him probably wouldn’t be easy, but they all left him alone anyway.

_Coming here had been such a good decision!_

Ever since he’d stepped in here—fallen in here, to be precise—he had mostly been walking around to make himself familiar with the place. He’d first arrived in the Inaba of his dreams, and he knew right away that he was going to love this new world. Everything was in shambles, the sky was blood red, and he could recognize all the areas he’d come to know so well, which made the sight of the ruins even more enjoyable. The station, the bar, his apartment complex, the shopping district… They were all completely destroyed, just the way Tohru had always wanted to see them. Then, the sightseeing became boring, so he just … opened a portal to another place. He didn’t know how he did it. Just that he wanted it to happen, he tried, and it worked.

_Apparently, this world loved him just as much as the other one hated him._

Everything was simple here. He could create gateways, astral project wherever he wanted, and even control these Shadows to some extent. He didn’t know how, or why, but he was sure of one thing: he belonged here.

There was something inside him, maybe that famous instinct Ryou was always talking about and Tohru lacked, telling him that the fog would invade Inaba and bring the end of the world when both the TV world and the other one would merge.

He couldn’t wait for it!

At some point during his exploration, he found a flat that he knew right away was Yamano’s. From what he’d seen and what he instinctively knew, people who fell in here created a new place based on their cognition, just like Tohru’s Dream Inaba. Plus, the torn posters of that _enka_ singer were a pretty clear sign.

_If he’d known she was such a bitter person inside… Maybe they had more in common than he’d thought!_

The noose made it a bit creepy, but otherwise, the detective really liked the place. He would go there whenever he’d grow tired of Heaven Inaba, he decided as he created a door to his own little world.

After all, if he was going to stay here, he might as well make himself at home!

.

The brats showed up the day after. Of course, they did. They probably wanted “justice” or something like that. The ginger boy likely wanted revenge, too. However, they wouldn’t be able to even find Tohru if he didn’t want them to. If they wanted to achieve something here, they would have to struggle every step of the way, just like he used to!

He, on the other hand, could do everything he wanted, even remodel his new home at will! Or create an illusion of himself to lure the brats to Yamano’s room and mock them. He told them about the imminent end of the world while he was at it, because there was nothing like a deadline to raise the stakes and make a game more interesting. Then, the pathetic team of idiots left, because Tohru wasn’t in the mood to deal with them now, so he made them run in circles until they gave up. He seriously considered killing them at some point, because they needed to be punished for ruining everything in the non-TV world, but since that made him discover this amazing place, he decided to let them go unharmed.

_He’d have his revenge sooner or later, anyway._

Meanwhile, and because simply waiting in this place where he apparently didn’t need food nor sleep would be boring, he decided that what he needed to complete his perfect Inaba was a perfect family. That would make the place feel all the more welcoming!

_Time to get his real family back!_

.

“Yu? Where’s Adachi? Still no news?” Ryou asked when his nephew came to visit.

“No, Uncle. The police are still looking for him.”

“But you can find him, right?”

Yu sighed.

“Probably…”

“If you do… Just tell me beforehand, okay?”

The kid stared at him silently for a minute, and nodded slowly.

.

Tohru knew the Iwais better than anyone else (probably because he’d never really bothered to get to know other people, but that was beside the point), so he had no problem recreating them from memory.

He made Mune first, and as soon as the man appeared in front of him, the cop wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly. He took a deep breath, enjoying the familiar smell of filed metal and plastic coming from the retailer’s coat as he buried his head in the crook of his neck.

“Mune…” he called softly. “I’ve missed you so much…”

It took a few seconds for the creation to react, and Tohru started fearing that his powers had reached their limit here. However, after an eternity, the other chuckled softly and said:

“What do you mean, Tohru? I’ve always been here.”

The cop looked up to take in as much of Mune’s face as he could, and kissed him. The man tasted like cherries and sugar, just like Tohru remembered. He had missed it so much that he could have cried.

Kaoru could wait, he decided. For now, he was going to do all the things he’d been dreaming of during those long months away from home.

.

Tohru, Mune, and Kaoru were walking down Inaba’s shopping district, or whatever was left of it in his world. They were talking casually about things and others, and the cop decided to bring the two of them to Konishi’s version of that place, where everything was in a much better state.

“You’ll see, Kaoru, there’s this tofu shop just around the corner, you’re going to love it!” he explained to the kid as he created a door to the place.

He walked through it, but the other two didn’t follow. When he turned around to see why they weren’t coming, he saw their faces on the other side, waiting patiently with a blank expression.

Tohru’s heart slowly filled with dread at the sight, until he remembered that they were real only because he was here to make them so. Apparently, they couldn’t leave Dream Inaba, and his power over them vanished as soon as he left it.

_That was annoying, but he could deal with it. It wasn’t like he could see the real ones again anyway, win or lose. This would have to do, no matter what._

He gritted his teeth at the thought, and destroyed a passing Shadow to calm his nerves. Then, he stepped back into his world, trying to ignore how creepy his creations looked when they weren’t animated, and they started talking and acting normally again. The cop made the door disappear.

“It’s okay, I’ll just have to rebuild the tofu shop here. No big deal,” he told himself out loud.

Mune tried to tease him about it, but it sounded off somehow. As if Tohru didn’t have his sharp tongue and couldn’t imitate it.

_But it was fine. Everything would be fine._

.

Tohru recreated Mune’s flat in the tofu shop, and Untouchable at the blacksmith’s place. He was currently having dinner with his family, and it felt so good to finally be back home…

As he’d soon found out, familiar situations were easier to reproduce, and he had missed those times more than anything. Showing tricks to Kaoru and hearing about the newest thing he was into, complimenting Mune on his food and telling him about his day, letting the conversation flow naturally…

“I’m never leaving you two again,” Tohru said with a happy smile.

To think that he’d missed that for all this time… He was right when he thought that nothing would ever compare to being with his real family. How could he even think for a second that Ryou and Nanako could stand the comparison? The Dojimas were barely good enough for a temporary replacement. They were the fake ones and always had been.

.

Ryou was worried about Tohru. The guy had disappeared without a trace after his nephew and his friends confronted him, and no one had been able to find him ever since. He was starting to wonder if they wouldn’t end up finding him hanged on an antenna soon, even though he knew that it wouldn’t happen, since his partner had apparently been the killer all along.

_It couldn’t be, though. The Tohru he knew would never do such a thing!_

The detective sighed. It all made sense, now that he was faced with the facts. Tohru had spent the evening with Yamano the night she died. He had, indeed, called Saki the night before her body was found. And he was working at the station when Namatame said he called to warn them.

The circumstantial evidence was there, clear and impossible to ignore, even though the killing method was still unknown. Still, it didn’t make the whole thing easier to accept.

_There had to be something. A loophole. Something they had overlooked. Maybe Tohru was innocent, after all. He had to believe in that!_

Ryou got up angrily and walked out of his room. He couldn’t stay alone at a moment like this. His partner was usually with him at this time of the day, and he couldn’t bear his absence. Tohru was the killer, probably. But the detective couldn’t come to terms with that. Not after everything that had happened between them.

Tohru had been there for him when he was at his weakest, and he’d stayed with him the whole time. They were so close that he’d even brought him to his own home! Made him a member of his family! He _loved him_ , dammit!

It couldn’t all have been a lie, right?

_But Ryou was feeling so lonely… He was so ready to accept anyone who would just stay by his side… And Tohru was right there, all along, every step of the way…_

He stopped in front of Nanako’s room and took a deep breath. He couldn’t let his daughter see him like this.

_Tohru would have been fine, though. Tohru never judged him when he was down. He didn’t rely on him, either. Now that he was thinking about it, Ryou had been the one relying on his partner the whole time._

He exhaled deeply and opened the door. Nanako smiled when she saw him, and he sat by her side, asking her how she was feeling today.

“Good! I feel a lot better now, Dad. Do you think we can go home soon?”

“The doctors said you might be able to leave before Christmas,” he explained, all his worries about Tohru gone away in an instant.

He’d never realized before how much spending time with his daughter brightened his mood. She was like a little ray of sunshine in his dull life.

_To think he’d almost lost her…_

He still didn’t know how she recovered. The doctors had no explanation to give him either. Ryou had never really been one to believe in gods, but he still thanked them for giving him his precious daughter back. He wouldn’t forget how much she meant to him from now on, he promised himself.

Nanako started telling him about all the things she wanted to do once she was out, such as building a snowman just like they did when her mom was still with them, and sit under the _kotatsu_ with Yu and him. He nodded and said that he couldn’t wait for it, surprised himself by how much he meant it. He wouldn’t be able to go back to work full time when he was out, and hearing his daughter tell him about all the fun things they could do together filled him with joy. He had almost forgotten about that.

_It would be better to do all those things with Tohru, though. Was there even snow in Tokyo?_

 “Big Bro also said that we can’t grow anything in the garden for now, but he’s looking for winter seeds, so we can start gardening together soon.”

“Sounds good. And maybe we can try growing strawberries in spring,” he added.

“But Big Bro won’t be here anymore…” Nanako said with a sadder look.

“We can still do it together, right?”

“We can?” she asked with a surprised look.

“Well, I don’t know much about gardening, but I don’t think Yu did either, before he started. I can give it a try,” he declared, sounding a lot less confident than he intended.

“That would be great! I love strawberries!” his daughter cheered.

“I know, they’ve always been your favorite. You mom used to bribe you with strawberries, when you didn’t want to eat. And you’d always stop to stare at them, whenever we walked past some,” he remembered with a smile.

“I don’t remember! When was it?”

“I think it lasted until you were three. It’s a miracle that you never tripped, back then,” he chuckled. “That’s why I decided to make our own garden, you know. I thought it would make you happy if we could grow some at home.”

“Really? I didn’t know! Why didn’t you do it?”

Ryou sighed.

“I’ve been busy, and a lot happened, so I could never bring myself to build it…”

_It reminded him too much of happier times, when Chisato was still with them. He used to tell himself that he’d take care of it once her case was closed, to celebrate. But truth be told, he probably wouldn’t have. It was a good thing that Yu took over the project. He shouldn’t have had to, though._

“It’s okay. We can grow them, now,” Nanako declared with that serious expression kids sometimes have; especially her.

He nodded with a soft smile.

_He’d do better this time. He wasn’t going to let his second chance go to waste._

Ryou stayed with her until the nurses sent him back to his room, and he forced himself to work on some files to avoid thinking too much about Tohru, who always came back to haunt him as soon as his daughter wasn’t here to keep him away from his mind.

_Why wasn’t he back already? The others had showed up a lot sooner than that, even Kubo!_

.

Tohru was having his tenth dinner with the Iwais in a row. He was tired of talking to Mune inside the shop. Tired of walking around Inaba with them. Dinners were still good, though. There offered more possibilities, he found.

Still, it was all starting to feel like a well-oiled routine. Or like a TV show. He could almost hear pre-recorded laugh tracks sometimes.

_What were the brats even doing? Why weren’t they coming back? Didn’t they care that the world was ending?_

He sighed. Maybe he should try bringing more variety into his life…

.

 “Muney, I’m home!” Tohru announced as he entered the flat.

_Laughter_

Mune walked out of the kitchen, armed with a knife and a threatening look.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said as he lowered it, looking perfectly harmless all of a sudden. “Welcome home.”

_Laughter and claps_

“Of course it’s me. Did you expect someone else?”

_Some laughter_

“No, it’s just that you’re home early today. Could it be that crime is on vacation?”

_More laughter_

“Of course it is. There’s no one else in this world!”

_Roaring laughter_

“What are you cooking?” Tohru asked after a few seconds, once the laughter had died.

“Cabbage.”

“Again? Didn’t you make something with cabbage yesterday?”

“But I thought you loved cabbage.”

_Some laughter_

“Yeah, but it’s all we’ve been eating for days! Don’t we need a bit more variety?”

“Tohru, remind me who’s holding the knife here?” Mune asked, crossing his arms.

_Laughter_

“Cabbage is perfect!” Tohru yelped.

“That’s what I thought,” Mune nodded.

_More laughter_

Kaoru came in the room with a book.

“Welcome home, Tohru-san. Can you show me a trick today?” he asked.

“Sure! Look at my hand,” he said, showing his empty palm. “Now I just need to clench my fist and… Tadah!” he continued as he opened his hand and let a long flow of coins come out.

_Laughter that grows stronger as the coins keep falling_

The two others looked at the coins come out of his hand for an uncomfortably long time. Then, Tohru stopped the flow for a few seconds, and shook his hand to make more come out.

_Laughter and cheers_

He kept doing this for a moment, stopped, and shook his hand again to let a few more coins fall on the ground.

_Roaring laughter, cheers and claps_

Tohru bowed dramatically, a fake smile plastered on his face.

~~This masquerade was so pathetic he could cry.~~

_End of the scene_

.

Mune and Tohru were sitting on the couch silently, drinking tea in a comfortable silence.

“You know, Kaoru is sleeping at a friend’s place tonight,” the retailer announced after emptying his cup.

The kid had spent the evening with them, but Tohru didn’t question it and simply put his own cup on the low table.

“Oh? What should we do, then?” he asked innocently as he sat closer to the other man.

“I have a few ideas,” Mune smiled, wrapping an arm around him.

They kissed in that slow pace that only belonged to the evenings when Kaoru was out for the night. However, since Tohru was impatient and Mune was always happy to comply unless he really wanted to mess up with his partner, it didn’t stay this way for long. Tohru ended up on top of the retailer, and as often these days, he immediately went for the man’s shirt and took it off.

“Someone’s in a hurry today,” Mune said with a smirk.

Tohru hummed in agreement and took a moment to admire the tattoos that adorned the man’s skin, as if it was the first time he saw them. He had really missed the sight…

Then, the other reached up to kiss his neck, rubbing his stubble against the sensitive skin in a way that never failed to make the cop shiver and sigh, and he whispered in his ear:

“You have a few layers of clothes to get rid of as well…”

He then put his hands on Tohru’s hips and pulled them down to make their crotches rub. The cop hissed, and his shirt soon ended up on the ground. They then reached for each other’s pants and freed their dicks, which were fully hard by now.

Tohru buried his face in the crook of the man’s neck and they rutted against each other, enjoying the simple friction and letting the heat rise a little. They had time, after all. As much as they wanted. The detective moaned when the other grabbed both of their members and started stroking them together.

“Your voice is so sexy when you’re like that,” a voice said in his ear, and there was something about it, something that didn’t fit, but what…

The man smelled like filed metal and cologne, cigarette and sugar, and Tohru knew something was off, but he was feeling so good that he didn’t care what it was. He clawed at the other’s shoulders and tilted his head slightly to let him nip his ear, letting out another moan just to please him.

“Say my name,” the voice ordered, and he couldn’t resist it.

“Ryou,” he cried.

He realized his mistake as soon as the word came out, and he felt his blood turn cold in his veins.

_Wrong name…_

Everything shattered around him, Mune disappeared from under him, and as he felt the fabric of the couch on his bare skin, he curled up and screamed in frustration.

_When were the brats planning to come for him? He was going crazy in here!_

.

“Hey Partner, do you think we could go in the TV today?” Ryou heard from outside his room.

He recognized the voice. It belonged to one of Yu’s friends. Intrigued, he kept listening.

“No, there are still things I need to do,” his nephew replied.

“Like what? He said the end of the world was coming!” the other protested.

Yu remained silent for a second, and finally explained:

“I still don’t have a date for Christmas.”

“Oh… right,” his friend said. “I guess it makes sense.”

_Well, good thing it made sense to the kid, because to Ryou, it was complete gibberish._

.

The brats came a few days later (probably, he didn’t know much about time anymore; it wasn’t like there was a day and a night in here). Tohru had spent most of his time exploring the TV world, destroying Inaba some more, and hunting Shadows for fun. He’d slept a lot too, to make the days go faster.

He’d been feeling so bored that he made the kids run in circles in his world for fun, adding rules for them to follow and laughing at the way they raged and screamed in frustration every time he sent them back to the entrance. Then, they finally reached him, and he welcomed them with a sarcastic clap.

_Like a cliché villain. When did he turn into this?_

For some reason, the brats kept asking him why he’d done all of this. Why he’d killed Konishi. Why he wanted to see the world burn so badly.

_As if it mattered when it was going to end anyway._

‘I just wanted to go home’ was a bit too pathetic, and there was no way Tohru would admit it to a bunch of annoying kids with too much free time on their hands anyway. Plus, it didn’t sound right anymore. The reasons ran deeper than that, he realized as he heard himself tell them about how the world was shit, how much easier life would be if society was destroyed because it was so unfair, how much better it would be if everyone ran on basic instincts like Shadows…

He wondered where it came from, and for a second, he thought he saw the reflection of golden eyes in the brats’ glasses as he told them about it. He realized that it all came down to talented people in the end. How they were the only ones who had everything they wanted while the others could just accept their own mediocrity and admire them or envy them from below.

_He’d never known that his resentment was running so deep, but it sounded so true…_

He didn’t remember much of what happened afterward. Just that he fought, and that he lost. And since the brats were so full of shit and wanted their precious “justice”, they dragged him out of this nightmarish place that used to feel so nice and welcoming, and he was arrested.

_Ryou had even ordered a stretcher for him, and if he hadn’t felt so weak, Tohru would have laughed at how pitiful it was that the man he’d hurt, betrayed, and lied to the most would still want to help him._

Everything was over now. He would confess his crimes, go to court where no one would ever believe any of his declarations, and eventually end up in prison where the other inmates would make sure his life was a living hell. After all, there was nothing criminals hated more than rotten cops, except maybe pedophiles. Being killed by Shadows would have been a much better fate for someone like him, but of course, the brats couldn’t understand that.

He had truly fucked up this time, huh…

_Nice job, Tohru._


	14. Doj-Ima Ask You a Few Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To finish with the worst pun of all (or is it? idk anymore)
> 
> Wheeeeeew I can't believe it's over. I wanted to post it sooner, but then NaNo started and... well...
> 
> Anyway. Today, Dojima and Adachi have a talk. A proper one. It was about time.
> 
> Get ready for your heart to be broken, I guess? But more importantly: enjoy!

Tohru got arrested two days before Christmas, and Ryou had lost count of how many favors he had to ask for just to see him.

_Good thing everyone would likely be too scared of him to ever ask for repayment…_

It hadn’t taken long for his partner—ex-partner—to recover enough from his injuries to be able to talk. It was surprising, for someone who looked so much weaker than Namatame. It seemed that Ryou really didn’t know him after all…

He nodded at his two colleagues at the door, and they let him in without a word. The detective was sure that one of them was smiling. They had never really liked Tohru, and probably hoped that he would beat him up or something.

_They couldn’t be more wrong about that. He was here to do his job: he’d come for the truth._

Tohru was sitting in his bed when Ryou walked in. He was looking through the window with a neutral and slightly annoyed expression that his senior hated immediately.

_He wanted to see his partner’s goofy smile so badly…_

He cleared his throat to announce his presence.

“Hi, Tohru,” he said softly.

“You know, Dojima-san,” the other started, and it hurt him so much to hear his last name again, even though there was no one around to hear them, “when Yamazaki said you were coming to visit, he told me that he hoped you’d beat the crap out of me…”

He wasn’t looking at Ryou, his eyes still glued to the window. He then turned his head slowly to face him, and looked him in the eyes with a wry smile as he concluded:

“But you’re not here for that, are you?”

The detective sighed and grabbed a chair to sit next to the bed. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it turned out to be a lot harder than he’d expected.

“No, I’m not,” he replied.

“Your injuries have gotten better, I see,” Tohru noticed.

Ryou nodded.

“I should be off the hook soon.”

They remained silent for a few minutes. Ryou didn’t know where to start, and he hated how the other didn’t try to fill the blank. Usually, Tohru couldn’t stay silent for long, but now, it seemed that the man in front of him could stay like this forever.

“Do you know why I’m here?” Ryou asked when it became obvious that the ball was in his court.

“Why?” the other asked with an uninterested tone.

“I want the truth.”

“The truth, huh?” the younger man scoffed. “You know it already. The brat told you everything. If you’re here for more lies about how the whole TV thing makes no sense and I’m not the killer, don’t count on me.”

“Fine,” Ryou sighed. “I’ll accept the TV thing. And the fact that you’re the killer. What I want to know is your motive.”

“My motive? So this is an interrogation?”

“I just want to know.”

“I did it because the world is shit, I guess…” the man replied, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

“That can’t be it.”

The other let out an empty chuckle.

“Do you want to know why I hooked up with you in the first place?” he asked suddenly, and Ryou knew he would hate what was to come.

However, he’d come here for the truth, and he was planning hear everything the man had to say, so he braced himself for the worst and let him continue.

“I had someone, back in Tokyo,” Tohru announced.

It was the last thing Ryou expected to hear.

“He looked just like you. Gave off the same … loner, single-father vibe. He was a much better parent than you, though…” He shook his head. “We kind of broke up when I was transferred here, and I thought I’d be fine, but I missed him so much, and you two looked so alike…”

Ryou’s heart sank, and he forced himself to breath carefully, making sure not to let the other see how much it hurt to hear that. He didn’t want to know the rest, but he forced himself to stay strong and let him continue.

“I’ve never thought about you, you know. When we were making out, or even having sex. All my little pet peeves about dimmed light and not facing you were because it was much easier for me to forget that it was you and not him.”

Each of these words pierced Ryou’s heart like daggers, but he still managed not to flinch. He took a deep breath and said:

“You still called my name, that day in the shower.”

His voice was a lot more broken than he wanted, but it was the best he could do at the moment.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” Tohru replied, looking away from him again.

_He was speaking the truth, Ryou knew it, but there was something he was hiding._

“What does it have to do with the murders?” he asked.

_He’d heard enough for now._

“It was so funny, you know,” the other continued, ignoring his question. “To have the detective in charge of the case do such things with the filthy murderer. Trust him so much that he’d let him around his own family. That he’d even call him a part of it…”

_And yet, Tohru wasn’t laughing, that day at the hospital…_

The thought didn’t make the rest of the other’s declaration less true, however. Ryou couldn’t believe that he’d misunderstood the man and misinterpreted his actions so much. He’d been such an idiot…

“What about the murders?” he asked again with a harsher tone.

“Relax, Dojima-san, I’m getting there,” Tohru said, and for a second, the detective recognized the Tohru he knew.

Then, his face became blank again and he stated:

“I killed them because they were worthless bitches and I could. Don’t ask for more, that’s all there is to it.”

“You didn’t know Yamano would die, though. That’s why you threw up when we found her body.”

Somehow, talking about the murders felt a lot easier for Ryou. He was back in familiar territory.

“Good job, Dojima-san! It’s almost like you understand me now! It took you some time, but you’re finally getting there!” Tohru said with a sarcastic, exaggerated smile. “That’s right, I had no idea her corpse would show up like that, and it took me by surprise. Did you really think that after all those years in Tokyo, this was the first dead body I’d seen? How much of a rookie did you think I was? I didn’t get this far just by goofing around, you know.”

“Why did you act like an idiot, then?”

“Because that was what you were all expecting, right? Some fuckup from the city. I thought the less you expected from me, the easier it would be. ‘Why do we always have to deal with the trash from Tokyo?’ you probably thought. Well, let me tell you why: that’s because this town is shit, and you should be happy that the city sees it as worthy of being its trashcan!”

Tohru almost yelled the last part. His eyes were full of scorn, and hatred, and anger. Then, he looked away before saying with a calmer tone:

“Anyway, the first thing I did after learning that I’d killed Yamano was kill Konishi, so why does it matter that I didn’t know what I was doing the first time?”

“It’s the truth,” the detective stated.

“Right, the truth…” Tohru sneered.

They remained silent for a while, giving Ryou some time to process what had been said. He didn’t think he could do it now, however.

“There was something else, actually,” the other man added. “After I killed them both, I thought I could solve the case myself by pinning all the crimes on Namatame; that it would have been enough for the higher ups to send me back home.”

He shook his head slowly.

“What an idiot I’ve been…”

_So no matter how hard Ryou had tried, Inaba was never his home, huh…_

The man then turned back to him and asked:

“Something else you want to know? Or do you get the picture now?”

“Was it really all a lie?”

Ryou knew he shouldn’t have asked. He knew that the answer would probably hurt him more than everything he’d heard until now, and that he didn’t have it in him anymore to stay strong when Tohru was trampling on his heart like this.

Still, he’d come here for the truth, and no matter how horrible it was, he was going to hear it.

The guy burst into laughter.

“So you really don’t get it, huh? No matter what I say, you still won’t see your precious truth!”

He shook his head again, a sinister smile still on his face, and explained:

“Well, let me say it clearly one more time. Everything you thought you knew about me was a lie. I lied from the moment I stepped into the station for the first time, and I didn’t stop until now. _This_ is the truth! _This_ is the real me! The goofy, harmless rookie you knew and fell in love with was nothing but a mask I wore so that people would leave me alone!

“But of course, you didn’t. You were so lonely, so desperate to have someone in your life that you could rely on… And I was always there; I _had_ to be there. And it was such a perfect position for me, because I knew the closer we were, the less you were going to suspect me. And look how well it worked! You never thought it could be me, not even for a second! You’ve been told time and time again now that I’m the killer, and you still refuse to believe it!”

Ryou couldn’t tell what Tohru was doing right now, or how he was looking. His vision was too blurry for that.

“Oh, are you crying now?” the other mocked him. “Is it finally sinking in? You’re a pathetic excuse for a detective, you know that? So what, are you ready to hate me and leave me alone now, just like everyone else? Or are you going to hang on to a bunch of crappy lies?”

He had spat the last words and once again, he looked away and stayed silent for a few seconds. Then, he declared more calmly:

“I bet you regret it now, huh? Letting me in when all I did was betray you.”

“No,” Ryou said with a croaky voice, and he was surprised to find that he meant it.

He saw it now, clear as day. Despite his vision being still blurry from the tears, he could see Tohru like he really was. There was no filter anymore, no wishful thinking, nothing holding him back. The man stood in front of him in his entirety, full of bitterness, scorn, loneliness, and hatred. Full of so many hopes and so many good things that had turned sour after years of disappointment and self-inflicted isolation. It wasn’t what he wanted to see, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the truth, and it was laying bare in front of him.

“Then, you’re more of an idiot than I thought,” Tohru spat. “Get out of my room now. I don’t have anything more to say to you.”

He stared at the window again, just like when Ryou had stepped into the room, a lifetime ago, and the detective knew that he wouldn’t say anything useful from now on. He got up slowly, feeling like his heart had stayed on the chair behind him, and announced:

“I’m leaving. Goodbye, Tohru.”

The other turned back to him, his expression full of shock, and hope, and pain. It all turned into anger a second later, and he yelled:

“Don’t you dare call me that! Don’t call me that ever again, _Dojima-san_!”

Ryou turned around, wiped his tears, and walked toward the door with a more composed expression.

“I’ll be back. See you soon, Tohru,” he said calmly before leaving the room, hearing the other scream and scream behind him.

He didn’t know if he felt calmer by the time he stepped back into his own room. He was starting to process things, and he knew it would probably take some time. However, there was one thing he knew for sure: despite everything, despite how ugly, twisted, and broken the real Tohru was, Ryou still felt that he could love him. And the man loved him too, he’d seen it. He didn’t know when it started or why, but there was something. He knew that he was probably an idiot for thinking this, but he had a feeling that his ex-partner could be saved.

It would be long, and it would take time, but Tohru was his family, and he was ready to bet everything he had on this tiny glint of love and beauty that he’d seen in the man’s eyes for a second, before he started pushing him away again. No matter what the other said, he’d still do his best to help him.

This would be a battle of wills, and if his years trying to solve old cases had taught him anything, it was that being stubborn was his main strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last thing before you go: as some of you know, I have a third part called Futaba's School Days that should start... as soon the first chapter has been beta'd, so in 2 weeks latest. It happens right after P5 and it's about Futaba and Kaoru being in the same class and becoming best friends. It's... cute, and very self-indulgent, and I hope you'll like it. You can read the chapters in whatever order, and you can even skip some; they're only loosely tied to each other.  
> Also, **it gives some answers about what happened to the Iwais after Adachi left**. I'll make sure to tag the chapters about Adachi, for those who are only interested in that.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it!  
> A special thank you to my betas, [Akaicchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akaicchi/pseuds/Akaicchi) and [Rawen](https://rawengrey.tumblr.com/) (who also makes shitposts for me, please check them out, they're awesome), and also to sendgays for her continued support! I wouldn't have gone this far with this story without you guys!


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